ELMER ANDERSON

Mr. Elmer Anderson of Jordan served with the Ninth Cavalry, when it was sent into Wyoming to stop the Johnson County Cattle War between the cattlemen and sheep men.

Mr. Anderson was a horse wrangler and not a member of the military personnel. He said he was old enough to draw government rations by the time he was with the Army.

In reminiscing, Mr. Anderson said he was born August 2, 1873 in Sweden.

He was a horse wrangler for the Army in South Dakota, also at the time the Indians were up in arms against an English syndicate that had brought in cattle.

He said the Indians had the old sqaws sit on the bundles containing guns, ammunition and tomahawks while the soldiers searched the camp. Elmer aroused the antagonism of a mute Indian by calling him “crazy”.

He didn’t think much of the Army-made coffee for in those days before our instant beverage, they dared to call it coffee when grounds were put in a cup and boiled water poured over it.

Elmer came to Miles City in 1898 from Virginia City and spent some time in the area north and west of Chalky Butte. In 1906 he took eight horses and two wagons down east of Miles City and worked on the Milwaukee railroad then being built.

Later he returned to the Jordan country, married, homesteaded, and has raised a large family. He spent much time freighting with horses and later with trucks, mined and sold coal. Once he trailed two carloads of horses to Moosejaw, Canada for Percy Williamson.

One hard winter he hauled feed for August Anderson’s sheep across the Missouri River ice. This was discouraging business for both men as so much of the load had to be used for horse feed on the long cold trips.