Pierre Wibaux

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(Post-ranching Activities)
(Cattle-Ranching)
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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 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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In 1883 Pierre (age 27) 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]], a fellow Frenchman, 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.   
  
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.
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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. He ran cattle on the open range in an area covering nearly 70,000 acres. This prestige earns him the friendship of a certain [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who was then ranching about 30 miles east of Wibaux in the Dakota badlands, who would give up the stock business to go on and become the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He remained friends with the Marquis de Mores, who had undertaken a grandiose meat packing and meat marketing enterprise in Dakota.  
  
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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The W Bar Ranch operated from 1885 to 1895, employing 25-30 cowboys. The ranch's cattle ranged from the Little Missouri on the east to the Yellowstone, from the [[Norther Pacific Railroad]] on the Yellowstone to the Missouri river. The main ranch for his family and servants was 12 miles north of Mingusville, which he had renamed to "Wibaux". He had a secondary ranch 60 miles north of Wibaux where most of the cowboys lived. A string of line cabins were maintained ?along the Yellowstone?. A wolfer was employed who ran two 50 dog packs on alternate days.
He divested himself of cattle as more settlers came into the country and competed for resources. By 1900, Pierre had moved to Miles City, but he still engaged in some cattle business near Miles City until 1908. One of the first rodeos was put on by the W Bar cowboys as entertainment for visiting Frenchmen. (Source calls them "nobility", probably included his father.) The main ranch for his family and servants was 12 miles north of Mingusville, which he had renamed to "Wibaux". He had a secondary ranch 60 miles north of Wibaux where most of the cowboys lived. A string of line cabins were maintained ?along the Yellowstone?. A wolfer was employed who ran two 50 dog packs on alternate days.
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He divested himself of cattle as more settlers came into the country and competed for resources. By 1900, Pierre had moved to Miles City, but he still engaged in some cattle business near Miles City until 1908. One of the first rodeos was put on by the W Bar cowboys as entertainment for visiting Frenchmen. (Source calls them "nobility", probably included his father.)  
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The house on the main ranch burned down in the 1920s. A stone barn survived much longer.
  
 
[[Image:PierreWibaux2.jpg|thumb|right]]
 
[[Image:PierreWibaux2.jpg|thumb|right]]
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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.

Revision as of 23:37, 14 December 2013

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