WEBVTT 00:01.766 --> 00:05.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - 1890, South Dakota is one year old. 00:06.666 --> 00:10.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Its frontier is closed, the wild horses are gone. 00:11.766 --> 00:13.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% The buffalo are gone. 00:14.700 --> 00:17.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The Sioux are forced onto the reservations. 00:18.800 --> 00:21.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% One year earlier, the vast Sioux Reservations 00:21.333 --> 00:24.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% had been reduced from an area that included all of 00:24.066 --> 00:26.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% western South Dakota, minus the black hills 00:26.800 --> 00:30.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to five smaller reservations, The Pine Ridge, 00:30.533 --> 00:34.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The Rose Bud, The Lower Brule, The Standing Rock 00:34.233 --> 00:36.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and the Cheyenne River reservations. 00:37.633 --> 00:40.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Gone was their nomad way of life. 00:42.033 --> 00:43.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The federal government wanted the Sioux to 00:43.966 --> 00:45.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% become farmers and ranchers. 00:47.233 --> 00:49.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% But the Sioux had no history of grain farming 00:49.866 --> 00:52.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and never adapted to this way of life. 00:53.566 --> 00:55.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% They continued to live along the rivers and creeks 00:55.833 --> 00:58.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% where water flowed and the trees grew and the land 00:58.933 --> 01:01.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% gave shelter from the winter wind. 01:01.433 --> 01:06.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% This left large tracts of upland grass lands unused 01:06.033 --> 01:09.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% or grazed only by Indian cattle in the summer. 01:09.933 --> 01:12.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% For the federal government had created an allotment 01:12.733 --> 01:17.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% program, giving each Indian 160 acres of land, title 01:19.166 --> 01:21.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to which held in trust by the federal government. 01:21.533 --> 01:24.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The idea was patterned after The Homestead Act. 01:26.033 --> 01:29.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% While farming success was at best questionable, 01:29.200 --> 01:33.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% raising cattle and horses met with some success. 01:33.066 --> 01:36.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - "The Indian's devote their attention to stock raising, 01:36.133 --> 01:38.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% freighting and farming. 01:38.300 --> 01:40.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% They have been very successful at stock. 01:40.700 --> 01:44.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Nearly every family having a few head of cattle and horses. 01:44.066 --> 01:46.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And many of the more progressive have large herds 01:46.333 --> 01:48.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% ranging from 10 to 100 cattle." 01:49.866 --> 01:52.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Perrine P. Palmer, United States Indian Agent. 01:53.933 --> 01:56.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - "The climatic conditions are such as to preclude the 01:56.200 --> 01:59.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% probability of successfully growing crops in this locality. 01:59.966 --> 02:02.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% With these conditions against them on the one hand, 02:02.433 --> 02:04.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% there remains but one alternative. 02:04.733 --> 02:07.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Which is more congenial to the habits of the Indian and more 02:07.466 --> 02:10.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% profitable than the tilling of the soil, stock raising." 02:11.866 --> 02:14.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Ira A. Hatch, United States Indian Agent. 02:15.566 --> 02:18.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - If some of the young Sioux saw the possibilities of 02:18.300 --> 02:21.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% grazing stock on the wide open range land of the 02:21.200 --> 02:25.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% reservations, so did the cattle barons of the Southwest. 02:26.966 --> 02:29.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% By the turn of the century, the railroads had reached 02:29.733 --> 02:32.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% the east side of the Missouri River. 02:32.533 --> 02:36.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% A strip of land six miles wide and 90 miles long was opened 02:36.900 --> 02:39.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% on the north side of the Cheyenne River Reservations, 02:39.733 --> 02:42.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% so cattle from western South Dakota, Wyoming and 02:42.733 --> 02:45.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Montana could be trailed to the railhead, 02:45.766 --> 02:48.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% on the river at Everts. 02:48.333 --> 02:51.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% There was big business for the railroads in hauling 02:51.366 --> 02:54.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% homesteaders to their new homes in the west and 02:54.900 --> 02:58.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% in hauling their cattle and grain to markets in the east. 02:59.700 --> 03:02.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The Sioux and their sympathizers didn't hold the 03:02.200 --> 03:06.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% reigns of power in Washington, the railroads did. 03:06.500 --> 03:09.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And southwestern cattle barons were already dreaming 03:09.533 --> 03:12.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of new lands to pasture their herds of cattle. 03:12.866 --> 03:15.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% All that stood in the way of their dreams, 03:15.233 --> 03:16.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% was the Sioux nation. 03:17.766 --> 03:21.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% A Sioux nation nearly destroyed by war, 03:21.033 --> 03:23.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% by disease and by defeat. 03:25.066 --> 03:28.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% A Sioux nation the federal government was trying to convert 03:28.800 --> 03:32.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% into ranchers on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. 03:32.900 --> 03:35.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% A Sioux nation that did not want to give up 03:35.700 --> 03:37.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% its lands once again. 03:39.000 --> 03:40.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% But give them up they did. 03:42.366 --> 03:45.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Over two million acres of Cheyenne River Reservation 03:45.066 --> 03:48.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% were opened to grazing leases. 03:48.166 --> 03:50.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Some in the federal government felt the decision 03:50.566 --> 03:54.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to lease would be unfair to the Sioux and would be 03:54.033 --> 03:56.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% a setback to national Indian policy. 03:57.900 --> 04:00.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The cattle barons of the southwest were pleased. 04:00.600 --> 04:04.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Barons like Captain Burton C, Cap Mossman. 04:04.166 --> 04:06.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% His dreams would soon come true. 04:06.966 --> 04:09.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% When Cap was first informed of the availability of 04:09.900 --> 04:13.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% land to lease in South Dakota, he was in Kansas City. 04:15.266 --> 04:18.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The leases were made with the understanding that livestock 04:18.166 --> 04:21.566 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% would be furnished by the Hansford Land and Cattle Company, 04:21.566 --> 04:22.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% a Scotch syndicate. 04:24.633 --> 04:28.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Since Cap could not handle all four tracts being offered, 04:28.100 --> 04:31.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% he contacted Murdo MacKenzie, general manager of the 04:31.833 --> 04:34.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Matador Land and Cattle Company, to see if 04:34.600 --> 04:36.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% he was interested in part of the lease. 04:38.433 --> 04:42.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He was and he accompanied Cap to South Dakota. 04:44.233 --> 04:48.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Mossman met MacKenzie in tiny Everts, the railhead across 04:48.400 --> 04:51.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the Missouri River from the Cheyenne River Reservation. 04:52.333 --> 04:54.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% What they saw when the crossed the river was 04:54.766 --> 04:58.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% a land almost untouched by settlement. 04:59.733 --> 05:02.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% A land that had supported huge herds of buffalo. 05:04.100 --> 05:06.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% A land that could grow cattle. 05:07.200 --> 05:09.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Mossman fell in love. 05:10.900 --> 05:13.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Writer Fraizer Hunt paints this picture of Mossman's 05:13.900 --> 05:18.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% first view of the vast prairie he was about to lease. 05:20.533 --> 05:23.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% "To Cap there was a sheer magnificence about 05:23.100 --> 05:25.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% this endless rolling prairie. 05:25.333 --> 05:27.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% It was still new and unspoiled. 05:27.366 --> 05:30.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Plowman had not yet uprooted its fine natural grass 05:30.900 --> 05:33.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and turned it wrong side up. 05:33.433 --> 05:36.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% It was as God had created it. 05:36.133 --> 05:38.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And there was every prospect that it would long 05:38.633 --> 05:41.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% remain untouched by the steel plows of 05:41.466 --> 05:42.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% iron hearted nesters. 05:44.400 --> 05:47.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He wanted this land, this way of life. 05:47.733 --> 05:50.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He wanted it to have and to hold. 05:50.533 --> 05:52.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% To keep all the days of his life. 05:52.700 --> 05:54.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Until he could no longer sit on a horse 05:54.700 --> 05:55.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% or count his cattle." 05:58.000 --> 06:00.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Mossman wanted the south half of the Reservation, 06:00.733 --> 06:02.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% not the North half. 06:04.133 --> 06:08.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The south half had a natural boundary, the Cheyenne River. 06:10.133 --> 06:13.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% It also had more bottom lands and breaks 06:13.366 --> 06:15.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% to protect the cattle in winter. 06:17.233 --> 06:22.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But how to out maneuver the equally wiley MacKenzie? 06:23.600 --> 06:28.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - When they met MacKenzie told the Cap how impressed 06:28.000 --> 06:30.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% he was with the north half of the reservation, 06:30.066 --> 06:31.800 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% what a wonderful area it was. 06:32.966 --> 06:36.000 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% And Cap said, well I sure wish I had ridden 06:36.000 --> 06:38.266 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% over that part and looked at it. 06:38.266 --> 06:42.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Which caused MacKenzie to decide that he wanted 06:42.633 --> 06:45.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% the north half of the reservation. 06:45.733 --> 06:47.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% And so Cap agreed with him and 06:47.633 --> 06:50.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% then Cap took the south half. 06:50.500 --> 06:54.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Which provided all of this, because it tipped to the south 06:54.633 --> 06:59.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and was parted by the Cheyenne River, provided 06:59.266 --> 07:00.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% good shelter for the cattle. 07:02.233 --> 07:03.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - With the southeastern portion of the Reservation 07:03.933 --> 07:08.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% secured, 500,000 acres, Mossman proceeded 07:08.233 --> 07:11.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% to ship in cattle from the southwest. 07:11.366 --> 07:14.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% About three years after winning the leases, 07:14.133 --> 07:17.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the Hansford Land and Cattle Company left the deal 07:17.400 --> 07:20.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and Cap sought out the Thatcher brothers. 07:20.333 --> 07:23.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Bankers from Pueblo Colorado and their brother in law 07:23.933 --> 07:27.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Bloom, banker from Trinidad Colorado. 07:27.266 --> 07:31.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The Diamond "A" Cattle Company was formed. 07:31.200 --> 07:33.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% It would last until 1944. 07:35.266 --> 07:38.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Cap gradually acquired ownership of most of the 07:38.333 --> 07:41.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% best river bottoms on the Missouri and Cheyenne Rivers 07:41.733 --> 07:43.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% from the original Indian allottees. 07:45.133 --> 07:47.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Since Mossman controlled surrounding leases, the 07:47.833 --> 07:51.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Diamond "A" was the only game in town. 07:52.133 --> 07:54.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He shipped in yearlings, fattened them on the 07:54.766 --> 07:57.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Reservation grass for a couple of years. 07:57.333 --> 08:01.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Then shipped them off to market in Sioux City and Chicago. 08:01.833 --> 08:04.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Because Mossman ran his cattle over the leases, 08:04.833 --> 08:07.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Indian ranchers could not run theirs, 08:07.666 --> 08:10.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% except for around their small allotments. 08:11.366 --> 08:14.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Cap Mossman had a fierce reputation for fighting 08:14.200 --> 08:17.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Mexican cattle rustlers as the founder and 08:17.200 --> 08:19.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% first Captain of the Arizona Rangers. 08:21.333 --> 08:24.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He brought that reputation with him to the Diamond "A". 08:24.500 --> 08:27.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He used his cowboys as he had done in Arizona, 08:27.866 --> 08:30.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% to rid rustlers of his Diamond "A" cattle. 08:32.166 --> 08:35.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Rustling in large numbers was not a major problem. 08:35.633 --> 08:40.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% For me, they had enough cowboys riding the range 08:40.166 --> 08:44.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% continually so that no one ever made off with 08:44.566 --> 08:47.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% large numbers of their stock. 08:47.166 --> 08:51.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But all through the years they were here, they lost 08:51.033 --> 08:56.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% cattle through individuals butchering the cattle. 08:57.200 --> 09:00.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Some for their own use, some to sell the meat. 09:02.333 --> 09:04.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And it never ceased to be a problem. 09:04.100 --> 09:07.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% It got worse at times and it got less at times. 09:07.066 --> 09:09.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% But it was always a problem for Diamond "A". 09:10.933 --> 09:13.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - But it was more complicated than that. 09:14.366 --> 09:16.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Times were touch on the Reservation. 09:17.900 --> 09:21.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% After all many Indians had lost their livelihood. 09:22.433 --> 09:25.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And many homesteaders talked about how they 09:25.200 --> 09:28.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% raised their kids on Diamond "A" beef. 09:30.000 --> 09:32.566 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% - One time Cap and I were down there at the agency 09:32.566 --> 09:37.566 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% in the Rangers office and an Indian come in there 09:39.033 --> 09:42.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% I don't know he was probably 40 or 50 years old. 09:44.166 --> 09:47.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And this Ranger asked Cap if he knew of this folk. 09:47.133 --> 09:48.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Oh yes, he says I know him. 09:48.800 --> 09:50.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He says Ellie cut his cheese off my beef. 09:52.400 --> 09:57.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Well, we didn't have any milk for the baby because 09:58.866 --> 10:02.633 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% my husband went across the Cheyenne River every 10:02.633 --> 10:05.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% evening and milked two cows and they gave him milk. 10:05.866 --> 10:09.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Then the river rose and he couldn't get it. 10:09.266 --> 10:14.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And so he said don't worry, we fed 10:15.133 --> 10:16.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% her bean soup for a while. 10:17.700 --> 10:18.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Two or three days. 10:18.900 --> 10:21.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And she kept her crying carrying on. 10:21.366 --> 10:23.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% She was just little. 10:23.366 --> 10:25.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He said I'm going to run in a couple of little 10:25.400 --> 10:26.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Diamond "A" cows. 10:27.766 --> 10:29.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% He ran in four of them. 10:29.300 --> 10:32.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% We milked four of them before we got a bottle full of milk. 10:33.833 --> 10:36.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - While the politics and race relations surrounding 10:36.633 --> 10:40.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the Diamond "A" may have been rough, to the cowboys 10:40.066 --> 10:43.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% who worked there it was a top flight outfit. 10:43.866 --> 10:47.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The Diamond "A" was a place a young man could get a job 10:47.166 --> 10:49.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and an education in ranching. 10:51.166 --> 10:53.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% One such man was Hans Mortenson. 10:55.033 --> 10:58.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The son of Danish immigrants, Hans grew up on 10:58.000 --> 11:00.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% a homestead ranch in Stanley County, 11:00.466 --> 11:02.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% immediately south of the Reservation. 11:02.833 --> 11:07.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In the spring of 1907, at the age of 16, Hans 11:07.000 --> 11:10.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Mortenson rode north to the reservation looking for work. 11:11.966 --> 11:14.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He was hired for the summer and fall and was 11:14.300 --> 11:17.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% told to come back the next spring. 11:17.233 --> 11:20.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In 1908 he went to work for the Diamond "A". 11:20.300 --> 11:24.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And was on their payroll until his death, March 21, 1940. 11:27.600 --> 11:32.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Well, we lived in Eagle Butte but those were 11:34.000 --> 11:35.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% tough times for the Diamond "A". 11:37.266 --> 11:42.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Following the end of World War I, by 1920 the price 11:43.400 --> 11:45.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of agricultural products had started to slide. 11:45.933 --> 11:50.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And the agricultural economy went into a period of decline. 11:52.133 --> 11:55.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And the bottom wasn't hit until the drought, 11:55.066 --> 11:57.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% combined drought and depression in the 1930s. 11:59.300 --> 12:01.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% During that period it was extremely difficult 12:01.733 --> 12:04.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% for the Diamond "A" to make money. 12:04.033 --> 12:09.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And so the manager's job was to try to hold the company 12:10.733 --> 12:15.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% together and keep the operations profitable enough 12:16.600 --> 12:17.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% so they could stay in business. 12:19.533 --> 12:23.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Within five years of the time he was appointed General 12:23.600 --> 12:28.600 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Manager, the Indian reorganization was passed in 1934. 12:29.966 --> 12:33.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And the Diamond "A" lost a good share of their big leases. 12:33.600 --> 12:36.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Like Hans, most of the other cowboys who worked on 12:36.600 --> 12:39.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% the Diamond "A" have also passed on. 12:39.700 --> 12:43.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% However, there are two cowboys left from the hay day 12:43.033 --> 12:44.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% of the Diamond "A". 12:44.533 --> 12:47.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Nelson Babcock and Kirk Myers. 12:48.333 --> 12:51.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% For them, the time they spent as cowboys on the 12:51.166 --> 12:55.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Diamond "A" was the greatest time of their lives. 12:55.433 --> 12:58.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - It was work that I liked, you know, which was 12:58.233 --> 12:59.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% what I wanted to do. 12:59.766 --> 13:02.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% When I was a kid, I was raised on the Lower Brule 13:02.600 --> 13:04.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Reservation and Scotty Phillips 13:04.866 --> 13:06.900 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% ran a lot cattle down there then. 13:06.900 --> 13:09.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And later on the DZ Cattle Company. 13:11.033 --> 13:13.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And their cowboys used to come to our place. 13:13.933 --> 13:16.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% My folks had the post office there. 13:19.633 --> 13:22.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And cowboys used to come there to get their mail. 13:22.033 --> 13:24.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And a lot of times it was noon time, 13:24.333 --> 13:27.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% where we would give them something to eat. 13:27.166 --> 13:31.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And I got to liking cowboys and saddles and horses. 13:32.966 --> 13:36.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% I always thought I wanted to be a cowboy. 13:37.400 --> 13:39.966 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% - I like it, I liked it, it was hard work. 13:39.966 --> 13:41.833 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% I mean it was tough work, I'll tell you. 13:41.833 --> 13:46.833 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% When you was gathering cattle it was 16 hours a day. 13:48.200 --> 13:50.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% If you slept all the time, you wasn't working. 13:50.266 --> 13:52.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% You could sleep six hours. 13:55.133 --> 13:57.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Sometimes you got a little interference 13:57.866 --> 13:59.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and you didn't get that much. 13:59.666 --> 14:03.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% That didn't bother some people, that didn't bother me much. 14:03.100 --> 14:08.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But poor old John Haigle, or not John Haigle, but John 14:08.066 --> 14:11.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Holloway, he'd fall asleep trying to eat breakfast, 14:11.033 --> 14:13.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% he just couldn't hardly take it. 14:13.466 --> 14:15.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Although the ranch operated during the first half 14:15.800 --> 14:18.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of this century, it was run like ranches in the 14:18.466 --> 14:21.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% last half of the 19th century. 14:21.433 --> 14:26.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Horse, cowboys, open range and line camps. 14:26.100 --> 14:29.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% No electricity, no vehicles. 14:29.966 --> 14:33.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Yearling cattle came to the Diamond "A" via railroad 14:33.266 --> 14:35.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% from southwest pastures. 14:36.566 --> 14:39.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% During the spring, summer and fall the cattle 14:40.533 --> 14:43.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% grazed on the vast reservation which was largely unfenced 14:43.033 --> 14:45.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% except for a drift fence. 14:45.400 --> 14:48.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Sometimes there would be primitive housing at semi 14:48.700 --> 14:52.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% permanent camps, but more often than not a cowboy slept 14:52.566 --> 14:57.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% under a wagon or the open sky in every sort of weather. 14:59.033 --> 15:03.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - In the early 1930s when they still ran the wagons 15:04.833 --> 15:08.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and they were shipping lots of cattle, and ran the wagon, 15:08.600 --> 15:13.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% dad as the foreman was one of the more fortunate ones, 15:13.000 --> 15:16.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% because at least he got to come to town on Saturday night 15:16.033 --> 15:18.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% and stay overnight. 15:18.433 --> 15:21.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Where most of the cowboys had to turn around with the wagon 15:21.333 --> 15:24.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and go back out to gather the herd for the next week. 15:24.466 --> 15:28.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But he would come in, particularly in the fall when it 15:28.100 --> 15:32.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% was wet weather and I remember my mother unrolling 15:32.100 --> 15:36.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% his bed roll and during the period when it would 15:36.566 --> 15:38.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% be wet and drizzly weather. 15:38.900 --> 15:43.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And I remember the blankets being mildewed because 15:44.533 --> 15:47.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of course he got up when he was with the wagon 15:47.133 --> 15:49.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% like everyone else and stood guard, whether it was 15:49.300 --> 15:51.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% raining or drizzling or snowing or whatever. 15:53.000 --> 15:56.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - As the herd and cowboys moved, so did the chuck wagon. 15:56.666 --> 15:59.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Or as most cowboys simply called it, the wagon. 16:01.433 --> 16:05.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Whenever we moved, Cap or the cook drove the, we 16:07.500 --> 16:09.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% called it the mess wagon, chuck wagon. 16:10.900 --> 16:14.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% With four horses strung out to them. 16:15.333 --> 16:18.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Two tandem, two horses, nine and two in front. 16:20.433 --> 16:24.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The cook drove but the cook never helped harness up the 16:24.633 --> 16:26.066 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% horses, hitch them up. 16:26.066 --> 16:28.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The cowboys did that before they went on round up. 16:28.766 --> 16:33.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He takes these wagon horses and bed wagon horses out 16:33.433 --> 16:38.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of the round up out of the rope corral. 16:38.366 --> 16:42.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And harness them and hitch them up 16:42.866 --> 16:45.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and hand the lines to the cook. 16:45.766 --> 16:50.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Since the work was strenuous, food was important. 16:50.233 --> 16:54.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And with the foods importance came the cooks importance. 16:55.433 --> 16:58.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% You didn't mess with the cook, particularly the 16:58.200 --> 17:00.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Diamond "A"'s cook, Skully. 17:01.800 --> 17:04.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - Skully at one time had been with 17:04.200 --> 17:07.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Buffalo Bills wild west show. 17:08.633 --> 17:11.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Of course when that was over with, he came back 17:11.766 --> 17:15.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to the range again and got to be a round up cook. 17:17.266 --> 17:20.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And he was there when the tent blowed down. 17:20.366 --> 17:23.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He insisted on, instead of cooking in the shack, 17:23.966 --> 17:28.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% setting the tent up on the ridge above the house there. 17:28.733 --> 17:31.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And we got one of them squalls with a hell of a wind 17:31.200 --> 17:33.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% with it and it blowed the tent down. 17:33.733 --> 17:37.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And Nels and Skully they both jumped out there, 17:40.600 --> 17:42.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% running around in their shirt tails trying to hold 17:42.666 --> 17:45.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% that tent town, but the damn thing pulled in two. 17:45.100 --> 17:47.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% It tore it right in two in the middle. 17:47.833 --> 17:51.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And it pulled up on of them big iron or wooden stakes. 17:52.733 --> 17:54.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The wind it twirled it around and hit old Skully 17:55.733 --> 17:56.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% right on his shin bone. 17:56.933 --> 17:58.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% You could hear him hollering for a mile. 18:00.400 --> 18:02.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% - Vacations were unheard of. 18:02.900 --> 18:06.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% If you didn't work you didn't get paid. 18:06.233 --> 18:09.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Still the men had to go into town for supplies 18:09.866 --> 18:13.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and there were dances to attend. 18:13.333 --> 18:16.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The fourth of July we worked cattle, but we went 18:16.800 --> 18:19.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to a dance that night and Skully got drunk again. 18:21.000 --> 18:23.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And brought home another jug, and he (beep) in the bed. 18:26.300 --> 18:27.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Do you want that in your thing? 18:28.833 --> 18:30.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Its in there I guess. 18:30.300 --> 18:32.800 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% (laughing) 18:32.800 --> 18:35.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% You can cut it out if you don't want it in there. 18:37.233 --> 18:38.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% And it went through the river 18:38.700 --> 18:40.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% that way, with his dirty clothes on. 18:42.166 --> 18:45.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% There wasn't no water to wash with until he got down there. 18:47.633 --> 18:51.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - About once a year you could get a few days off, you know. 18:53.000 --> 18:57.666 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% Buy some new clothes and that was usually in the fall. 18:58.866 --> 19:02.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Get some winter clothes, maybe another blanket or 19:02.233 --> 19:03.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% two for your bed roll. 19:05.133 --> 19:09.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And sometimes then a cowboy get pretty drunk. 19:10.733 --> 19:13.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% We drink too much and get pretty drunk. 19:13.366 --> 19:18.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Might be a little late, might be a day or two late 19:19.233 --> 19:19.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% getting back to the wagon. 19:21.200 --> 19:25.300 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80% - Well they get a few shots of moonshine and they 19:25.300 --> 19:29.066 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% didn't mind nothing, it was okay. 19:33.366 --> 19:36.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% You know they could really dance when they get that 19:36.433 --> 19:39.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% moonshine because they weren't bashful then. 19:41.633 --> 19:42.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% Gave them life. 19:45.033 --> 19:47.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Oh, I had a good time. 19:47.366 --> 19:51.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% I can remember we moved everything out of the room, 19:51.833 --> 19:55.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and just stepped outside and went ahead and danced. 19:55.466 --> 19:58.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Next day they helped moved it all back, 19:58.066 --> 19:59.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and that's all there was to it. 20:01.933 --> 20:06.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Married or single there was always work to do. 20:06.300 --> 20:09.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And it wasn't always riding the range. 20:10.433 --> 20:13.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Cowboys dipped cattle for scab in huge vats 20:13.500 --> 20:16.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% of hot lime and sulfur. 20:16.333 --> 20:18.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In the summer, cowboys became farmers 20:18.733 --> 20:21.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% putting up hay, cane and oats. 20:21.766 --> 20:25.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% They also built fences and repaired camps. 20:26.633 --> 20:29.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Hundreds of horses were needed, as each cowboy 20:29.833 --> 20:33.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% had six to eight horses which were his to ride. 20:34.533 --> 20:37.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Many work horses were also used for pulling the wagons, 20:37.900 --> 20:41.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% haying machinery, fencing and transportation of supplies. 20:43.333 --> 20:46.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Despite the diminished size of the reservation, white 20:46.400 --> 20:49.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% settlers were calling for more free land. 20:51.866 --> 20:54.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - "Settlement of the Cheyenne Reservation should be 20:54.000 --> 20:57.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the impetus for the development of central South Dakota. 20:57.233 --> 21:00.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% It means the building of a great city right at Pierre." 21:00.633 --> 21:05.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Pierre Daily Capital Journal 13, April 1908. 21:05.333 --> 21:08.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - "It is a matter of the utmost importance to the 21:08.266 --> 21:10.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% development of the state." 21:10.000 --> 21:12.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Senator Robert Gamble 21:12.000 --> 21:14.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - "Congress has the right to open the Indian Reservations 21:14.833 --> 21:17.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% by legislative enactment without obtaining 21:17.466 --> 21:18.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% the consent of the Indians." 21:19.833 --> 21:22.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% James McLaughlin, Indian Agent 21:23.566 --> 21:26.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Despite the fact that their own Indian Agents knew 21:26.400 --> 21:29.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% that continued taking of the land from the Sioux 21:29.666 --> 21:33.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% was taking the only viable livelihood left 21:33.200 --> 21:36.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% to the Indians, raising cattle. 21:36.233 --> 21:39.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% South Dakota's congressmen continued to introduce bills 21:39.866 --> 21:42.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% to open the un-allotted Indian Reservation 21:42.366 --> 21:43.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% lands to settlement. 21:46.066 --> 21:49.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The Diamond "A" was growing and also needed more land. 21:51.333 --> 21:54.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% In 1907 two additional tracts of land came up for lease 21:54.900 --> 21:57.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and Cap found the backing he needed to add another 21:57.766 --> 22:02.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% 500,000 acres, bringing the total to over one million. 22:04.233 --> 22:08.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% This made up the entire south half of the reservation. 22:08.200 --> 22:12.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Also in 1907 political pressure was building to open 22:12.533 --> 22:16.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to homesteaders those grass lands the Indians didn't use 22:16.533 --> 22:18.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% that would make the best farm land. 22:20.066 --> 22:24.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The World War I years through the 1920s were good years 22:24.700 --> 22:26.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% for the Diamond "A". 22:26.333 --> 22:28.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Cattle prices were good. 22:28.266 --> 22:30.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% The grass was good. 22:30.366 --> 22:32.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Yearlings came up from the southwest 22:32.533 --> 22:34.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% in the spring and in the fall. 22:34.566 --> 22:37.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Feeder cattle weighing six to eight hundred pounds 22:37.700 --> 22:39.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% were shipped off to market. 22:39.500 --> 22:43.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Cap Mossman was leading the good life. 22:43.433 --> 22:48.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% - He was a very stately man. 22:50.300 --> 22:53.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He was just a personification of what a small 22:54.933 --> 22:59.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% boy in South Dakota would think of as someone 22:59.333 --> 23:03.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% who was of immense stature and who was entitled 23:03.766 --> 23:05.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% to great respect. 23:05.700 --> 23:10.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Cap was a originally a cowboy, so he knew what you 23:10.533 --> 23:12.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% could do and what you couldn't do. 23:15.600 --> 23:17.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% And knew how it should be done. 23:18.900 --> 23:23.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - When I was about six years old, the Cap would come up here 23:23.566 --> 23:27.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% every summer, sometimes twice during the summer. 23:27.600 --> 23:29.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% He would come up on the Burlington Railroad into 23:29.833 --> 23:31.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Deadwood and my dad would go out and pick him up 23:31.966 --> 23:34.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and bring him to Eagle Butte. 23:34.000 --> 23:37.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And he would stay for ten days or two weeks. 23:37.700 --> 23:41.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% During which time he would go to all the camps 23:41.433 --> 23:43.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and look over the affairs of the company here. 23:45.100 --> 23:48.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And make plans for the shipping season in the fall 23:48.133 --> 23:51.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and generally lay out the work with my dad 23:51.233 --> 23:54.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% for those things that needed to be done. 23:54.833 --> 23:58.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - But with the crash of 1929 and the onset of the 23:58.066 --> 24:02.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Great Depression came another problem, drought. 24:03.533 --> 24:07.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% During much of the 1930s the lush green grass Mossman 24:07.700 --> 24:11.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% had raved about in 1904 was now skimpy and brown. 24:12.866 --> 24:14.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% The water holes were dried up. 24:16.266 --> 24:19.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The land broken by homesteaders now blew great 24:19.566 --> 24:21.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% black blizzards of dust. 24:22.800 --> 24:26.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The Diamond "A" could no longer support the great 24:26.000 --> 24:28.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% herds of cattle it once had. 24:29.733 --> 24:32.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And if low prices and drought weren't enough, the 24:32.666 --> 24:35.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Diamond "A" was in danger of losing its leases. 24:37.166 --> 24:41.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In 1934 Congress passed the Wheeler Howard Act. 24:42.833 --> 24:46.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The act gave Indian tribes much more self determination 24:46.333 --> 24:47.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% over their own affairs. 24:49.133 --> 24:52.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And with that power, came the power to decide leases. 24:52.966 --> 24:54.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% The Diamond "A"s leases. 24:56.166 --> 24:59.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% While rustlers, drought and low prices could not 25:01.166 --> 25:03.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% defeat Cap Mossman, the federal government could. 25:03.366 --> 25:08.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% One by one the Cheyenne River Reservation leases expired. 25:08.033 --> 25:11.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The land was going under the control of the tribe, 25:11.166 --> 25:14.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the people the land was originally set aside for. 25:15.733 --> 25:20.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In 1934 the Diamond "A" began to shrink in size. 25:20.233 --> 25:22.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% The herd was sold off. 25:22.533 --> 25:24.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Fewer cowboys were needed. 25:26.133 --> 25:29.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The ranch continued to operate into the early 50s 25:29.633 --> 25:33.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% in a greatly reduced state, under different ownership. 25:35.133 --> 25:39.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But it would never recapture the color and the glory 25:39.200 --> 25:41.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% of its first 30 years. 25:41.900 --> 25:44.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% It was the end of an era. 25:44.100 --> 25:46.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% It was the last ranch. 25:46.233 --> 25:48.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% A ranch from a different time. 25:48.733 --> 25:52.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The Diamond "A" may be gone, life on the open range 25:52.733 --> 25:54.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% may be gone, but the legacy of the Diamond "A" remains. 25:57.633 --> 26:00.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% - Most of those young people that went and worked 26:00.200 --> 26:03.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% with them and stayed with them developed friendships 26:03.966 --> 26:08.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and acquaintances and when they decided to go out 26:08.900 --> 26:12.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% on their own to ranching, head ranches all over 26:12.700 --> 26:15.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% western South Dakota but throughout the years maintained 26:15.900 --> 26:17.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% those friendships and contacts. 26:21.866 --> 26:25.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Yes, it definitely had a very great affect on where 26:25.333 --> 26:27.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% South Dakota is and what it is today. 26:28.733 --> 26:32.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And it had what I think will be a lasting 26:32.033 --> 26:34.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% affect on what it will be in the future. 26:35.433 --> 26:38.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% (harmonica playing)