"The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started: A Century of Ranching in Montana"

A century ago, Montana was vast and untamed. Without irrigation, drought was devastating. Harsh winters killed entire cattle herds. Considering the conditions, the book title, "The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started: A Century of Ranching in Montana," may be even a bit understated. The book compiles the stories of 142 ranches that remain working livestock operations run by the same family in the same location 100 or more years after they were first established. "Great ranches are not made of the dirt, water, wind and grass that comprise their environment," wrote Charles P. Schroeder, executive director of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. "They are formed and sustained by the character of the people attached to them." The ranches date back to 1871, when the Berg Ranch Co. was first created in Lennep...read more