12/09/2022
Back in 1909 or 1910, Claude McCracken drove this XIT Ranch chuck wagon, packed with bedrolls and supplies for roundup. Four horses pulled the wagon near Cedar Creek in Eastern Montana. You would be hard pressed to find a topic more iconic of Montana’s cattle history than the chuck wagon.
The 1892 journal left by XIT trail boss Ealey Moore recorded the supplies used for a crew of 10 men during the 13 weeks it took to drive 2,500 cattle from Channing, Texas, to the confluence of the Yellowstone River and Cedar Creek north of Miles City. The cook, Sam Williamson, ground and brewed almost two pounds of coffee beans a day, going through three coffee mills. Each day he cooked 10 pounds of bacon. During the 13 week drive, the crew consumed 40 pounds of rice, 160 pounds of beans, 9 gallons of sorghum, almost 300 pounds of fruit, including dried currants and prunes as well as dried, fresh, and canned apples and peaches, 405 pounds of white sugarand1,750 pounds of white flour. Learn more at http://mthistoryrevealed.blogspot.com/2014/10/chuck-wagon-provisions.html
Bonus: Look closely in the lower right side to see an image of the photographer - none other than the iconic Evelyn Cameron!