The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1873-11-15
.yOLOnOi7'e.
.EcE OF NEW MEXICO.

~ Times has interviewed Sc
r. c. Armijo, of the great sheep and wool
raising firm of Armjo Baca, of Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Mr.. Armijo is young man, the
son of the head of the house. The family have
been engaged in the raising of sheep and wool
for expectation East for several generations
past. They are unable to estimate their herds
accurately, but rough guess aggregates the ac-
tual number at something over half million.
Years ago, when Kansas City was the shipping
and trading point between New Mexico and
the East, Mr.. Armijo, ST., used to ship his thous
ands of feeces from this city by river to st.
Louis 1t seems almost incredible for people
living east of The great plains to realize the vast
extent and innumerable herds of sheep raised
yearly in the mild, dry climate of New Mexi-
20. The families claim nearly two million head
oe sheep, which are scattered over range OF
coSntry more than three hundred miles square.
In reply TO a question whether the Indians
troubled their immense herds, he replied: We
are not troubled by Indian depredations to any
serious extent. The Indians are troublesome
at times, but we scarcely ever miss what they
drive off or slaughter. They seldom kill our
hocks wantonly, and only take for food when
they pass one of our herds. He related an in
cident, in 1885, when the Apaches and Nava-
ioes drove off $4,000 head at one raid, and
thought that not less than 80, 900 head had been
stolen by Indians since then. The Indians drove
off about half that number between 1851 and
1865. But, said Mr.. Armijo, we hardly miss
them. The Mexican sheep raiser generally
handles his herds in focks of about three thous-
and head. Each of these herds is under the
personal superintendent of a major domo or
| overseer, who is assisted by shepherds, for
whom the sheep have fond affection. At
night these immense locks collect close togeth-
er around their shepherds, and sleep peaceful
| ly guarded by ell-trained dogs These shep-
herds are paid from $40 to SIS per month the
fha oh
| These herds roam at will over the boundess
plains of New Mexico, without shelter all the
| year through. They require no feeding, the short
! nutritious gramma grass peculiar to New Mex
leo, affording good pasturage in winter as well
as summer. The Mexican sheep is smaller than
| American sheep, but are more healthy and har
dy-- They clip about two pounds of wool to
1.-The fleece; thesT wool is short and fine, and
from all that can be ascertained by tradition
handed down through several generations,
were pure Spanish merinos brought from Spain
by Cortez's expedition. These great sheep rails
ers are now engaged in shipping large herds OF
sheep in Colorado. Mr.. Armijo last season
| drove about twelve thousand head to Denver,
! and signifies his intension of c eabling his drove
nextseason. Hesays that with proper care and
attention, sheep in sufficient numbers may here
after be raised upon the plains of Kansas and
Colorado to supply the entire world with
mutton and wool. During the conversation he
related an incident of a man who, three years
ago, purchased $500 head OF sheep from Armi-
10 & Baca at the low price of So each. To-day
that man has 10000 sheep, worth $4,000, to
say nothing of the enormous profit accruing
from the sale of wool during that time. And
again, he demonstrated the profits accruing
| from the purchase of 5000 head. man buys
this number, and in six months he finds him
self possessed of 10000 sheep, one-half of the
| 5000 increase being ewes and the other weth-
ers. Here is an increase of 100 per cent in six
months in natural increase. The feeces on the
| 5000 head will be worth 80 cents each, and the
5000 lambs can be sheared in the fall, yielding
two pounds each. The increase of sheep is
more than compound interest twenty times
compounded. Mr.. Armijo says that, allowing
for losses, there is nothing in the world to pre-
vent man from getting rich at sheep-raising
| in five years.