Pierre Wibaux
From birchyHistory
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==Cattle-Ranching== | ==Cattle-Ranching== | ||
| − | In 1883 Pierre gets to America and travels to [[Chicago]] to learn more about the range stock business before investing any capital. There he meets the [[Marquis de Mores]] who tells him of the prairies in North Dakota and Montana. Wibaux | + | In 1883 Pierre gets to America and travels to [[Chicago]] to learn more about the range stock business before investing any capital. There he meets the [[Marquis de Mores]] who tells him of the prairies in North Dakota and Montana. Wibaux and an army friend came to present-day Wibaux in 1883 and engaged in ranching. During this time he lived in a very primitive dugout where he ate and slept during brief intervals while learning the duties of a cowboy, foreman and rancher while eating and sleeping beneath the stars. After three years he was at the end of his resources and returned to France. |
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| + | The region was hit by an extremely harsh weather that winter of 1886-87. It is estimated that around 70%-85% of the cattle in the area perished in the long snowstorms. Pierre Wibaux saw an opportunity in this: only the sturdiest and most resilient beasts survived this trial, In 1887 Wibaux returned to Montana with his young English bride, French servants and an almost unlimited supply of capital. Undaunted Pierre bought the remnants of the large herds that had survived. Also, the shortage of beef available ensured high sale prices for Wibaux's stock for the following 3 years. In the 1890s, Wibaux had amassed one of the largest herds in the world, with over 65 000 cattle heads and 300 horses. This prestige earns him the friendship of a certain [[Theodore Roosevelt]], a fellow Montana cattle-rancher who would give up the stock business to go on and become the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. | ||
The W Bar Ranch operated from 1885 to 1895, but Wibaux ran cattle as early as 1881. The ranch's cattle ranged from the Little Missouri on the east to the Yellowstone, from the NP RR on the Yellowstone to the Missouri river. | The W Bar Ranch operated from 1885 to 1895, but Wibaux ran cattle as early as 1881. The ranch's cattle ranged from the Little Missouri on the east to the Yellowstone, from the NP RR on the Yellowstone to the Missouri river. | ||
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==Post-ranching Activities== | ==Post-ranching Activities== | ||
Wibaux, being a main land-owner in the area started to develop infrastructures and services in the area. He became the President and 95% owner of the State National Bank in Miles City, and also opened his own national bank in [[Forsyth, Montana|Forsythe]] of which he was the president. This particular position gave him the right to sign dollar bills to issue money, making him the only ever Frenchman ever to do so. | Wibaux, being a main land-owner in the area started to develop infrastructures and services in the area. He became the President and 95% owner of the State National Bank in Miles City, and also opened his own national bank in [[Forsyth, Montana|Forsythe]] of which he was the president. This particular position gave him the right to sign dollar bills to issue money, making him the only ever Frenchman ever to do so. | ||
| − | Pierre was also to be the only owner of the Clover Leaf Gold Mining Company which was thriving on gold-mines in the [[Black Hills]] region. He was one of several stockholders in the [[Yellowstone Coal Company]] around 1907 which mined low quality lignite coal from the north side of the Yellowstone. | + | Pierre was also to be the only owner of the Clover Leaf Gold Mining Company which was thriving on gold-mines in the [[Black Hills]] region. He was one of several stockholders in the [[Yellowstone Coal Company]] around 1907 which mined low quality lignite coal from the north side of the Yellowstone. He also had business interests in France, Mexico, California, and in the Klondike region of Alaska. |
By 1910, Pierre turned to traveling, but his plans were cut short by liver cancer. He died at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago March 21, 1913 (age 58). His wife Nellie and son Cyril returned to France, spent the rest of their lives there, and are buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. | By 1910, Pierre turned to traveling, but his plans were cut short by liver cancer. He died at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago March 21, 1913 (age 58). His wife Nellie and son Cyril returned to France, spent the rest of their lives there, and are buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. | ||
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==Personal Life== | ==Personal Life== | ||
| − | Wibaux was known as a good person to work for, fair to his employees, kind and thoughtful to proven friends, but overbearing and haughty to those who tried to use him for their own purposes. He loved to display his wealth, but didn't put on airs. His horsemanship served him well first in the French army, but also on his ranch, were he would | + | Wibaux was known as a good person to work for, fair to his employees, kind and thoughtful to proven friends, but overbearing and haughty to those who tried to use him for their own purposes. He loved to display his wealth, but didn't put on airs. His horsemanship served him well first in the French army, but also on his ranch, were he would participate in some work with his hired cowboys, taking orders from his foreman on roundups and enduring cold and rain. He was a capable boxer. A little taller than average, he weighed about 200 lbs. when he first arrived in the US. He loved flowers and brought his gardener Jules Accart with him from France. |
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| + | It is assumed that he wintered in England at least briefly in 1884-85, since his son was born in 1885. | ||
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| + | While in France during the winter of 1886-87, Pierre married a women that he had met in England and arranged to have several hometown locals accompany him to work as servants. When returning from France, the men came first, followed by the women (Nellie and servants) who were met at the railroad station in Keith by a group of Indians, but were soon escorted to their new home by Pierre and some of his cowboys. Stories are told of the women being alone at the ranch and having to hide when a stray Indian would come by and finding no one, would ransack the house. Nellie and her servant Victorine Accart returned to France in 1890 and returned with her maid's son and another servant girl. Victorine's husband Jules was Pierre's gardener and caretaker. | ||
Cyril, the Wibaux’s only child was born in 1885. He was educated at home until the age of fifteen when Wibaux leased a fashionable apartment in Paris for his wife and son from 1900 on, in order to assure that his son served in the French army and received a thorough business education. | Cyril, the Wibaux’s only child was born in 1885. He was educated at home until the age of fifteen when Wibaux leased a fashionable apartment in Paris for his wife and son from 1900 on, in order to assure that his son served in the French army and received a thorough business education. | ||
