Roundup, approx. 1885, photo by Baker and Johnson

For discussion of Charles S. Baker and Eli Johnston, see Fort Washakie.

Roundup Crew, approx. 1905, photo by Charles E. Morris

Charles E. Morris from Chinook, Montana, documented through postcards Montana, Wyoming and parts of South Dakota in the early 1900's. His color postcards, some of which are displayed elsewhere on this website were printed in Germany prior to World War I.

A roundup crew was often referred to as a "wagon" and the roundup boss as the "wagon boss." As on the trail, there was the cook, a wrangler to tend to the remuda or the herd of horses, and a night hawk. The cook had the longest hours, breakfast had to be ready at dawn, dinner at noon, and supper. He had to load and unload the mess wagon twice a day. It was the job of the wrangler, discussed on a subsequent page, to tend to the remuda, while the night hawk would graze the horses during the night and recorral them before they were needed in the morning.

Roundup near Saratoga, undated

The roundups were the essential times in a ranchman's year. In Texas, the spring roundup was for the purpose of gathering cattle for the drive north and the fall roundup was for the gathering of strays. In Wyoming, in contrast, the spring roundup was for branding and the gathering of strays.

Fall Roundup, near Buffalo, approx. 1909

The fall roundup would be for the selection of cattle to be shipped to market. However, on the northern plains the wagon would be out most of the time. The wife of one ranchman complained that the wagon would go out in April and would not return "til the wagon made tracks through four-inch Christmas snow."

Branding, 1907

Some of the outfits in the north were so large as to run multiple wagons. In Montana, both the X I T, discussed with regard to the Texas Trail on Lusk, and the W Bar owned by Pierre Wilbaux, ran two wagons, while the N Bar N ran four. Wilbaux was, like many a cattleman, a self-made man, starting out in log cabin with a leaky sod roof. Later, after he made a fortune, he kept his accounts in French francs and no one ever accused Wilbaux of being unduely modest. So that customers would not miss who owned his bank, he displayed in the lobby a bronze statue of himself. In addition the customers could view his photograph depicting the bank's owner on his horse Tic-Tac. Wilbaux and his wife Nellie gave a new meaning to the term "dressing for dinner." Whilst fixing Christmas dinner, the two would tend to the stove, Nellie in an evening gown and Pierre in a starched shirt and formal coat.

Branding on the Plains, 1909. Photo by Charles Morris.

Next Page, Roundups continued.