Autograph letter and statement, signed twice by Granville Stuart. Nine pages, in ink, on rectos of 9 sheets of lined paper.25x19.5 cm (9¾x7¾").
Fascinating and significant letter from Granville Stuart, "Mr. Montana," in his duties as superintendent of the "Cattle business of Davis, Hauser & Co." Stuart writes to his close friend and business associate Samuel Hauser, then on a trip to New York, and gives him details of the ranch and cattle during a frigid February in Montana, plus financial statements, listings of the types of cattle, and more. In part, "Enclosed find report of our cattle business up to date. Since I wrote you I took a six day trip out along the eastern border of our range to see what the cattle and Indians were doing. The only Indians I found were in a village of 140 lodges of North Blackfeet... We found no cattle near the Indians but plenty of buffalo... Don't forget to find out in Washington who were the bidders for the beef at Crow Agency & their bids so we can have some idea how to bid this year. It is a good thing if we can get it. John L. Murphy had it this year & will doubtless try hard for it again..." He then lists the number of cattle, horses, etc., on hand and the prices paid for them, the average cost per head, a breakdown of the types of cattle, and more. "With the opening of spring I will make a careful estimate of our losses and forward same to you. Although this has been a winter of almost unprecedented severity equaled, so far as i know, only by that of 1861, yet our losses are quite moderate up to date... Our good fortune being in a great measure owing to our having our cattle on the very best range now in Montana..." This all took place in what was early in this particular business endeavor, "Our expenses during this initial year of our enterprise have unavoidably been very heavy, but they will be much reduced in future... Cattle when taken to a new range invariably try most persistently during the first year to return to their old range, and this they will do though they had been starving on the old and in grass up to their sides on the new range... There are also other good reasons for employing extra herders... still worse, there is some 2000 British Indians consisting of Blackfeet, Bloods, Piegans & Cree, who camp upon, and move about at their own sweet will over our range, ostensibly, and in fact most usually, in pursuit of game, but we have in a number of instances found positive evidence that they have killed some of our cattle..."
Condition:
Dampstained, most severely on the first page with renders some words illegible, but the remaining pages are less stained; just good condition, but an important record.