<P> The first snows fell earlier than usual, in November, and were reported as some of the worst in memory . Extreme cold killed humans and animals . Some people got lost near their houses and froze to death very near their front doors . The winter weather even reached the West Coast, with snowfall of 3.7 inches in downtown San Francisco setting an all - time record on February 5, 1887 . </P> <P> The loss of livestock was not discovered until spring, when many cattle carcasses were spread across the fields and washed down streams . The few remaining cattle were in poor health, emaciated and suffering from frostbite . This resulted in the cattle being sold for much less, in some cases leading to bankruptcy . </P> <P> Future president Theodore Roosevelt's cattle ranch near Medora, Dakota Territory was among those hit hard by that winter . In a letter to his friend, Henry Cabot Lodge, Roosevelt remarked "Well, we have had a perfect smashup all through the cattle country of the northwest . The losses are crippling . For the first time I have been utterly unable to enjoy a visit to my ranch . I shall be glad to get home ." </P>

What had shaken the power of the big ranchers in wyoming in 1886-87