Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-01-19
Catching a Wild Sheep.

Walking in the midst of lovely
scenery and watching the day break in
such infinite splendor, l must confess
that became somewhat careless as to
my hunting and stumbled right on top
of little band of sheep feeding on the
level ground before 1 was aware of
their presence. In fact l did not see
them until they started. 1 fired, but
without any effect, and set the hound,
(poor old Plunk) after them. They had
got too good start and he could lot
come near them, but after awhile 1 no
ticed little sheep tagging behind.
Thinking PUNK might overtake it /
started off best plce after him. 1t is
no joke running over rough ground at
an elevation of some 5000 feet, on a
blazing hot July morning in Colorado,
and l pulled and blew and "larded the
lean earth in the most generous man.
ner. When / came up l found the
sheep perched on a little pinnacle of
rock, and the hound baying furiously
below. Poor little beast, 1 pitied it.
1t was only about three months old,
and it looked very fOIlorn; it was very
slightly wounded also, fact which
did not know before. went up to it
and patted it and the poor little crea-
ture did not seem much frightened,
and did not mind my touching it bit
but it would not follow me. 1t was
too much afraid of the dog fancy. l
did not know what to do. / wanted
to keep 1t alive, for a tame sheep is
some 6hat of rarity. L was afraid to
leave it alone while went for a wagon,
and was afraid of leaving the hound
to watch il lest he should run in upon
it and kill it during my absence. so /
concluded to pack it into the rancho
on my back. A nice job l had of it.
The little animal was as strong as a
donkey and kicked and walloped about
all the time. 1t was as much as /
could do to keep it on my shoulders.
BY that time the forenoon was far
spent, and the sun was pouring down
with tropical strength. 1 don't know
which one of us was more exhausted
by the time we got to the house. How
ever l was none the worse but the poor
drank lots of milk and seemed all right
for the first day, but after that he
pinned away and died in three or four
days. Running sheep with hounds is
a good deal practiced in some places.
| don't like it. 1t is a reprehensible
habit, and scares all the game out of
the country. 1t is a very sure and
easy way Of killing sheep if you have
a first rate dog and the ground is suit
able to the sport, but unless these two
conditions are fulfilled the chance of
success is small. Your hounds must
be very speedy and staunch and accus-
toned to the business; and the sheep
must be found near some isolated
pinnacle or crags of cliff. You creep
up as near as you possibly can to the
game and then start the dog at them,
yelling and hallOwing to scare them as
much as possible, as soon as you per-
ceive that they have caught sight OF
the hound. The sheep will run straight
up the mountain and will beat any dog
in short time; but if the hound has
got good start and if the ground has
been pretty level at first he will press
them so hard that one or perhaps two
or three of them will take refuge on
the first precipitous cliff they can find
IL that happens to be an isolated rock
so small that the dog can keep the
sheep at bay-"treed," as they say in
Colorado-until his master comes up
But for one successful run you may
make many unsuccessful ones. Moth
ing scares game so much as running
them with dogs, and consequently it il
a pastime that ought never to be pur
sued, or at any rate, hardly ever, and
then only when you can be quite GER
tain of success. The place where
caught the little sheep was favorable
for running them.