
HARSH WINTERS FACED BY THE PIONEERING COCHRANE RANCH
Researched and Written By:
Farley Wuth
Pioneer experiences from the early days of the Canadian West often speak of the harsh conditions which our forefathers had to endure. Many of these tales come from the formative ranching industry, forced by the very nature of the business to surviving often-difficult outdoor conditions. No exception to this was that of the corporate Cochrane Ranch, which during its first five years had to contend with two very hard winters, so severe that they threatened the very survival of the ranch itself.
A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE COCHRANE RANCH’S HISTORY
The Cochrane Ranch was one of the several company ranches established on the southwest portion of the Canadian Prairies during the 1880s. Large operations such as these took advantage of the Dominion Government’s 1881 Order-In-Council which encouraged the leasing of prime tracts of ranch land of up to 100,000 acres for up to twenty-one years. Designed to quickly fill up the west with the newly established and booming western cattle industry, it was hoped that this would lay the economic foundations for the region.
Also established in 1881, the Cochrane Ranch was the first of the corporate ranches to be launched. Originally located on the Bow River upstream of the new settlement of Calgary, the ranch over two years imported from Montana nearly 13,000 head of cattle. Due to the severe winter up there, much of the ranch was relocated in 1883 to a new southern tract of land between the Waterton and Belly Rivers. The size of this operation was increased in both 1888 and 1896. During the first twenty-four years of the ranch’s business, it retained a close connection with the Cochrane Family. The ranch was founded by Matthew Henry Cochrane (1823 – 1903) who hailed from Quebec. Cochrane was appointed to the Senate in October 1872 by Canada’s founding Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. The ranch southeast of Pincher Creek was managed during most of those formative years by William Cochrane Jr., one of nine children born to the Senator and the former Cynthia Maria Whitney who hailed from Lowell, Massachusetts. Like his father, the younger Cochrane was very interested in ranching matters. In 1905, the ranch was sold to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
MOVE FORCED BY THE WINTER OF ’83
The Cochrane Ranch had the misfortune to be severely hit by two harsh winters during those early years – 1883 and 1886-87. While severe winter storms were not uncommon more than a century ago, and other ranches were hit equally as hard, it is the second severe winter perhaps which has been better recorded in the history books. Fortunately, the Cochrane Ranch came up with a working solution, which seemed to lead to a partially satisfactory recovery from the impending doom.
The winter of 1883 was noted particularly for its long duration and bitterly cold temperatures. Large amounts of snow started accumulating in December, and most of it did not disappear until the spring thaw the following April. The disappearing snow revealed a shocking sight: literally thousands of carcasses of dead cattle were scattered across the open prairies. The dead animals were especially piled up in the coulees where the poor critters sought shelter from the winter blizzards. A final tally indicated that more than seventy-five per cent of the Cochrane Ranch’s herd disappeared that grim season: of the twelve thousand cattle there that fall, over eight-thousand of them did not survive the winter. The ranch faced financial ruin, and it was decided that a move was necessary.
SURVIVAL DURING THE WINTER OF 1886-87
With the ranch’s move that spring to its more southerly location, its owners soon faced a repeat of the earlier harsh conditions. The winter of 1886-87 was just as severe, and has been recalled from the pages of history for its widespread destruction: high losses of cattle were commonplace for most ranches adjacent the southern foothills. Extreme snow accumulations were recorded that season with over six feet being noted close to the mountains. No chinooks came, and the ranch hands were having a very difficult time of getting feed to the cattle.
It only was with the adept assistance of cattleman Frank Strong that the Cochrane Ranch was able to save most of its herd that fateful winter. Strong offered to round up nearly five-hundred wild Cayuses, and with the help of several experienced riders, was able to drive the ponies through the deep snow. Their objective was to clear a wide swath to Cochrane Lake, then a remote spot on the ranch, along where the starving cattle were stranded. It took two days of hard work to reach this point, the snow being so deep and encrusted that travel was difficult at best. The men and ponies tired after several hours of work but pressed on knowing that reaching the cattle would ensure their survival. Exhausted after their journey, they nevertheless reached the cattle at the lake, and immediately headed back, at full gallop, to the ranch headquarters. The cattle, anxious to be fed, quickly followed suit via the temporary route created by the trailblazers.
The tale ended on a happy note with more than enough feed being on hand to ensure most of the cattle survived. It took the crew only twelve hours to drive all the cattle from the lake to the grazing reserve. Strong was paid the handsome fee of one-thousand dollars for his efforts, an indication of the high esteem which the ranching officials had for his successful venture. Indeed, in spite of the harsh winter conditions of that year, the Cochrane Ranch was able to venture through it much more successfully than the season of three years earlier.
