Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-09-03
COLORADO SHEEP RANCHING.
How the Country Looks to "a Vcr-

ZOtn OF July, ana on Weunebuay bthrteu OuV
with Mr. Batchelder to buy wool. Drove to
Greeley, 90 miles, and Evans 3t miles, from
here. We were gone four days. and in that
time bought, weighed and shipped 10000
pounds of wool, aud made two Greenback
spceches-or B. did. He is n great Green
hacker, and has gone 35 miles to make a
speech tonight This ranch is six miles from
the village but in plain sight of it, as it is all
plain between, and it looks no more than
two miles. The air is so light and clear that
ono gets very much deceived about distances
Longs Peak, one of the highest of the Rocky
Mountains, is seen from here, and looks to me
about ten miles away when in reality it is
more than 10 miles The house is a little, low
frame building, with n flat roof; not very
grand, but very comfortable. The family and
myself sleep in the house, and the hired men
sleep in tent out back of the house lit
tie stream of water runs past the house, and
n nice spring is near, which is all the water
there is within two miles of here. Mr.. b.
owns all of this water and 400 acres of land
of acres of government land around here, as
it is good for nothing to any one if they can
not get water. This is all grazing land, and
he has range enough for TO- 600 sheep.
This season is the dryest that has been
known here since 1862, no rain TO amount to
anything having fallen since last autumn.
Consequently the feed is very poor so about
the first of July Mr.. Batcheder drove most
of his sheep up to North Park where the feed
is always good and after we came home from
buying wool we concluded to take a trip to
the Park and see the sheep. 1t is about 100
miles from here, right in the heart Of the
Rocky Mountains. 1t is large tract of land,
so miles long by 40 wide, like large meadow,
covered with splendid grass, with beautiful
streams of cold water running through, as
clear as crystal, and the whole surrounded by
high mountains. You can see snow in every
direction.
Bptcheder has pair of Bronco horses (half
Mexican) and platform spring wagon-just
the rig to go on such trip. So we loaded in
blankets and cooking utensils, a little bacon,
bread, coffee, etc, took another young man
with us, and started for the mountains We
were four days on the road going up. There
nv nv llOOhh lAOuntS luhN We NOulu hAbl
at over night, nor, in fact any other houses,
except once in fifteen or twenty miles we
would pass log cabin So we stayed where
night overlook us picketod the horses, and,
after cooking and eating supper, spread our
blankets ON the ground, built up big fire
and turned in, with nothing over us but the
heavens and a blanket. Slept like pigs, and
xuakaH ~, he tt.u
such as We used to have up in the Adiron-
dacks After four days travel, and just be-
fore night we entered the north end of the
Park, and there found the sheep, over 1000 of
them ip one flock, and looking finely. just
before we got to the corral, we saw two ante
lopes within hundred rods Of the camp.
took a rifle, mounted horse, and went for
them but they were too smart for me, and |
lost them. They are very plenty here, and
the herders have no trouble in getting all they
want for meat A little later in the season
they get plenty of elk, but now they stay high
up in the mountains, under the snow.
The next morning when we awoke we found
everything covered with a heavy frost
scraped enough from the wagon seat to make
a snow ball This place is 5000 feet high,
and there is a frost every clear night in the
year. 1t seemed very strange to me to see
the grass so green, and millions of beautiful
flowers, all covered with frost and yet looking
so fresh. Saturday morning we took one OF
the herders with US and started towards home
down through the Park, and just before night
discovered that We had gone as far as We
could, and that we were lost. We had been
following up a river, the Michigan" ant
| here the river ran so close to a high mountain
that We could not get by; neither could VIZ
| get over the mountain, nor over the river
So we concluded TO camp there for the night
and in the morning try to find our way out
We saw any quantity of antelopes that day
and had lots of fun shooting at them with
volver, but did not get any. We bo ught {
nice hrg- hind.quarter of one at a hunter
cabin, and all he asked for it was forty cents
You can Judge by that that they are not very
searc'. The way they keep their meat in this
country is to haul it up to the top of pole
forty feet high, or more the flies will not gel
to it there, and the air being so dry, a skin
forms over it in a very short time, so it will
| keep for months in the hottest weather per
| fccty sweet. The next morning we climbed
to the top of the hill, and away up the river
could see a cabin. Joe and Jack, the two fel
| lows with us, started to walk over to it, ant
Batchelder and took the team back and trieC
to find the way around. We found way af
ter travelling from early in the morning unit
noon, and over the worst country ever trav
clod with a team 'Rough" is no name TO
| bi1lg op1 lpxup Cta billg-nOu
| holding ON to the wagon to keep it right sid
up through gulches and swamps, until a
| last we came in sight of the cabin and it wa
| n welcome sight to me, assure you. But al
this time, from morning until noon, don
| think there was five minutes passed that VI
could not see more or less antelope, sometime
| in herds of hundred or more. They woult
start up close to us as we went over the brov
of a hill, and away would go like the wind
We could have killed wngonload if we hat
wanted to. At the cabin we had nice din
nor of bread and milk, and in the afternoon
travelled 30 miles. The next morning w
| found ourselves, as usual, covered with frost
This is high up in the mountains, and a littl
stream running past our camp is just as coli
as ice water. That day we crossed the snow.
range, II eco feet high, over the worst roa'
| evcrsaw- straight up, oyerrocks and stumps
for three miles, and then straight down TO
five. l thought we never would get TO IN
bottom. tried TO walk up the hill with tn
rest, but could not so twenty rods before
q would have to stop all out of breath. Tn
air is so light here that one not used to it ca
hardly walk any distance up hill without puff
ing like q steamboat. The next day we camp
ed for dinner beside stream, and in twent
minutes / caught all the trout we wanted TO
supper. 1t took longer to catch few grass
hoppers for bait than it did to catch the trout
. That night we camped under haystack at
ranch, and the next afternoon arrived home
1 was pretty well used up and tired out hav
hardly been out of the house since, but fee
all light tonight, and shall go in town tc
morrow for the mail
met DIR. Edmonds, formerly of Weston
VT, here last Wednesday. He was one {
the Vermont fish commissioners with Dl
Gale He came to Colorado for his health