The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-01-14
The Colorado Shepherd:

The Colorado Shepherd:
Our shepherd must purchase his
sheep; and here come in good many
honest differences of opinion az to the
kind which will give the best results.
Some will buy cheap Mexicans," ex.
pecting to breed better quality OF
lambs, and then dispose of the original
purchase. Others affect the California
stock. which of late years has come
into favor in some quarters. The weight
of opinion, however, would undoubtedly
incline our enterprising young rdncltero
to buy sheep on the spot in good con-
dition. and, what is very important,
thoroughly acclimated. His "bucks "
(say about three to each hundred ewes)
will generally be Merinos: In the
autumn, we will say. then, he begins
operations under favorable auspices:
His cabin is very plainly furnished, and
his corrals," or yards and sheds,
properly constructed and in readiness.
For feeding in stormy weather he has
enough hay safely stored away; and
after due care and inquiry, he has se-
cured an experienced and competent
herder-better, an American. At day
light all hands are called to breakfast,
and soon after the bleating flock are
moving over the range, and the herder,
with his eanteen slung over his shoulder.
and probably book in his pocket, has
whistled to his shepherd dog and started
after them. During the whole day they
Craze on the short grass, going once TO
water; and afternoon sees them brought
back near to the corrals. in which,
later on, they are again confined for the
night. Day after day, week after week,
month after month, pass IN ndonotonous
round: and then the cold weather
comes, and the herder puts on thicker
coat. and reads less, and walks about
rapidly, and stamps his feet for warmth.
AMI then some day, when he is tar away
from the ranch, there comes on that
dreaded enemy of sheep-raising@,a
prairie snow storm. With but little
warning the clouds have gathered, and
the snow is falling in thick and heavy
flakes. The sheep hurriediy huddle to.
gether, and no power can make them
move. The herder may have had time
to get them into q gulch. or under a
hank; failing in this, there is nothing
for it but to stay with them, sometimes
day and night, and trust to getting
them home when the storm is over.
Not far from Colorado Springs isa gulch
called Big Corral, in which more than
1000 sheep were lost a year or two ago,
having followed each other up to the
brink, and fallen over into the deep
snow. Nor did the Mexican herder ever
return to tell the tale, for he shared
their fate. It is with the snow storm,
indeed. that the dark side of the
Colorado shepherds life is associated,
and the great tempest Of the spring of
1878 left a sorrowful record behind it.
It must be mentioned that sheds are an
innovation, that some ranches have
none even now, and that before they
were built the sheep were exposed, even
in the corrals, to the fury of the ele-
ments. Per Cont, q, it should be said
that no such storm rs that of March,
1878. has been known since there were
any sheep in this part of the country.
On this occasion thousands and thou
sands of sheep perished: The snow was
eleven feet deep in the corrals. and
sheep were dug out alive after being
buried for two and even three weeks.
Their vitality seems very great, and
many perish, not from the pressure of
the snow, but from suffocation caused
by others falling or crowding upon
them. It is asserted that they some
times, while still buried. work their
way down to the grass, and feed thereon.
But our shepherd has taken care to
have plenty Of sheds, and he knows, too,
that by the doctrine of chances he need
not count on such storm more than
once in ten years, and he faces the win
ter with stout heart. Whenever it is
possible to send the sheep out, the
herder takes them, despite the weather;
but when that is impossible or lndls-
Greet, they are fed at home.
In May comes "lambing," and the
extra hands are busily occupied in tax
ing care of the young lambs. With their
mothers they are separated from the
rest of the flock, first in small
"bunches," then in larger ones; and
in October they are weaned. In June
comes shearing-an easy and simple
operation: and. if need be, "dipping."
or immersing the stock in great troughs
containing a solution of tobacco or
lime, cures the "scab," and completes
the years programme. Our shepherd
sells his wool, counts the increase OF his
flock after weaving, and if, as is to be
hoped, he is q good bookkeeper, he
sits down and makes up his accounts for
the year. 1t is hard to picture q greater
contrast than that which exists between
the sheep and the cattle business, the
freedom and excitement of the latter
bearing about the samo relation to the
humdrum routine of the former as does
the appearance of the great herd of often
noble. looking animals widely scattered
over the plains, and roaming sometimes
for months by themselves, to that of the
timid flock bleating in the corral, and
frightened at the waving of a piece OF
wiite paper. And then to think of
the difference between the life of the
"cow. puncher" Gas he calls himselt),
riding his spirited horse in the company
of his fellows, and that of the heroer
on foot and in solitude, is enough to
make US wonder how men can be found
for the one, while there is the slightest
chance of securing the other.-Harper's g
Magazine.