American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-08-29
THE SHEEP.HERDER'S STORY.

SOMETIMES / think men are born will
kind of mental loadstone in their brain.
which makes each individual seek out hi:
own particular destiny without his hav
ing great deal to do with the matter
himself. He thinks he is engineering his
craft in the most independent manner
possible, when in reality he may bt
ikened to toy swan in the hands OF
Fate, bobbing hither and thither as his
end of her magic rod. My own particu
lar loadstone always impelled me to the
frontier; and 1t alone, l am very sure
was the cause of my being found away of
in the wilds of Arizona in the summer OF
1856. l had fought everything on the
Plains, from a daredevil Comanche
down to cowardly Ute, and thought
there was no red deviltry on the face OF
the earth that 1 was not up to and so
when l landed at Prescott, dead broke,
after an extended tramp through South
ern Colorado and New Mexico, l was
perfectly willing to take a little job of
strengthening in order to get a stake for
the N. At spin around. 1t did not ruff1e
my equanimity in the least when my en-
ployer informed me that his ranch was
but a short distance from the somewhat
noted He'll Canon and Devils Cedars-in
fact, the most exposed of some dozen lit
tie ranches which formed the settlement
of Pheno Valley. He saw that this in
formation produced no visible effect upon
me, and so he incidentally remarked that
his last herder had just been killed by
the indians, but cheerfully assured me
that he had lasted for two months, which
was something unusual for herder :;
g for" said he, they all become used to
the Indians, and careless, by three or
four weeks, and get picked off when
there is no need of ii ~
/ assured him that / had no desire to
become familiar with my socially in
clined neighbors- at all, and that l did
not doubt but that three months would
still find me vigllant pastor of his
flock. He was evidently relieved at this,
cess, as he said it was such a bore to be
running to Prescott SO often in search of
new shepherd!
Well, pretty soon we arrived at his
ranch, and was duly presen ed to a few
other laborers as the " new herder." They
received me in much the same manner as
they would have greeted a missionary on
his way to tribe of cannibals among
whom cholera was prevailing. They
fastened to cheer me up by lmpartlng
the intelligence that strengthening was
by far the most dangerous employment
in that death-stricken country; for the
herder himself afforded the Apaches fine
sport t. hunt down, while the sheep they
could secure from his flock offered an
additi Inal inducement in the way of
furnishing the most toothsOme repast
they knew, except mule meat the latter
article of food appearing to fill the same
void in the gastric region of these dainty
epicures that a acknowledged pullet does
in the yearning bowels of an itinerant
pedagogue.
soon began to feel as though 1 was
chief mOurner at my own funeral, and,
but for the name of the thing would have
meandered back to town and left my en-
ployer in the lurch. 1t was shearing
time, and the flock was divided; the un-
sheared being under the supervision of
an assistant, while l was assigned to the
sheared, which, in the course of two
weeks clipping, was expected to comprise
the whole flock, and the transient hand
would then be discharged.
That evening put my repeating rifle
a trusty Henry-and my revolvers and
knife in the best possible condition, and
in the morning, with a canteen for water
and a small lunch, sailed out to spend
the day among the knobs and hills about
three miles from the settlement, where
the grass grew thickly enough to afford
pasturage for my flock, and where they
would be out of the way of the unfenced
fields. It was as dangerous a locality
for Solitary man to stand off"
rowing bands of Indians in as
could well be fixed up. The whole coun-
try in that part of Arizona seems to be
composed of mountain tops. from which
the valleys have been omitted in the
hurry of completing the job. Between the
hills, at the bottom of where the valleys
ought to be, are vacant spaces of varia-
Bile Sizes with an occasional bare peak,
but usually these grassy spots are
fringed with an underground thick
enough to conceal a man at few PAGES,
while here and there stunted cedar, or
juniper, rises above the tangle of few
feet, and comprises all the timber to be
found for niles Great powders form
the tops of the hills, and are scattered
promiscuOusly over the sides. So, you
see, itrwas a comparatively easy matter
for an Apache to creep upon you at his
leisure, ana wait for a favorable Oppor-
tunity to stick an arrow through your ri s
Only one thing was iii my favor, and
that WAS the irregularity of thi- under
growth. 1t had spots where it was al
most impossible to crawl without being
discovered by an acute eye. and which
rendered it very difficult to pass from
point to point, while making an tack
or retreat, without exposing the person.
So it was. as soon learned, the habit of
the Indians to select spot which they
thought most favorable to their purpose
and lay" for the expected victims
took good survey of the situation,
and at once saw that my Comanche
tactics would not do to rely upon here,
and all that would carry me through was
extreme watchfulness, and careful
avoidance of the chaparral as much as
was in my power. 1 also made up my
mind to fight it out on that line if
should be Jumped" as the expression
for being STACKED is rendered in front
Ter parlance, for l was convinced that TO
attempt retreat over such a route as /
would be compelled to take would be
worse than folly.
Well, the first day wore slowly away
and Isaw no signs of Indians, either in
that or several succeeding ones. / did
not relax my vigilance, however, and as
my workwae light and lasted only for
the daytime, and my evenings were soon
beguiled with a quiet Irritation that
sprung up between myself and brown
haired farm-lass, who regarded me- from
the perilOus nature of my employment
Kind of hero, l. became almost CON
tented with the situation. At no mo-
ment of the day, after getting out of
sight and hearing of the ranches in the
morning until | returneR with my flock
at night, was l free from the dangers of
an attack, and SO there was always sufti-
cient excitement about my work to pre-
vent the time dragging very heavily on
my hands ! found my flock, too, was
very watchful and very easily alarmed;
and / watched their movements very
closely During the heat of the day they
would collect in the shade of the little
clumps of jumpers and lie quietly for