Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-10-18
Especial Correspondence
Letter From Colorado.


Letter From Colorado.
PUEBLO, Col, Oct, II, 1889,
They say ont here that "a man can
make lots Of money In the sheep busl'
ness, but he's just got to have sand"
This Is undoubtedly correct statement
of tho case, The business Il profitable
when managed with care, Judgment
and industry, but II entails life Of
solitude to u great extent aud one full
of yicissitudes. A man should have a
proper appreciation of these things and
an understanding of tho business before
going into It, They tell Of high'toned
Englishman who came here u few
years ago with 100000 aud went away
owing 100000. lie was always blast
ing this hloody country, You know, and
lived high, In tho language OF an old
timer "blamcd if hc cared what he
paid for anything, Offer him q horse
worth $40 and charge him $3.50 and
he'd give you check. lie didn't care
what he paid for his sheep. Had 1900
of them, and you used to SEQ thirty or
forty Englishmcn loadng on him. You
bet he didn't have the trouble of selling
them sheep. Sheriff did il for him."
OF course such man could not sue
cced in raising sheep. But as an of.
set to this, and to illustrate the real
character of the business, here is an
other instance given me by IN old
hcrder. Said he : | wanted II man to
herd sheep, and met one coming out
of Pueblo who said he would like to
work for me. Look here, said !, u
, wont pay you any wages, but I'll give
= YOU 250 lambs which you must herd as
, part of the flock lie agreed to that
, and worked for me three years and u
half, until he had to 60 away and be
married, and then bought him out.
u The wool had paid all expenses and he
Y had 2,2j0 coming to him in cash."
1t is needless to say that there is nc
l.. royal road to success and wealth in the
sheep business, or any other calling, in
Colorado, any more than there is in
every part of the world. There is nc
hope for it without economy and indus
try and strict personal attention, ane
y even with all these the fates sometimes
j decree failure. But as a rule u maj
J, who knows what he is about may in
vest from $4,000 to $4,000 in shcel
and realize return of twenty-five pei
cent per annum. Comparing this will
the profits of cattle raising it will b'
found that che latter promise larger
though more tardy, returns, but th'
:, advantages on the side of sheep arr
smaller requirements in the way o
capital and the ready returns OF casl
from the yearly crop of wool. SOM
" old-timers assert that they can run
flock of 5000 sheep, year in and yea
out, at an average cost of fifty cent
per head. For such as they--an'
= there are many of them-the above es
innate of profit would need to be mate
rally changed. Your old timer ha
lived twenty years, perhaps, in thi
" part of the country. He is deeply at
. tached to the soil and knows no othe
home. He has spent years lii tn
. mountains prospecting, and while n
NAV like a soft bed and tight root
and good dinner as well as his neigh
y bor, there have been epochs in his lit
= = when any one of them would be NJ
nearer his reach than the joys of
" Mohommedon paradise, and she count
eth none of these things dear" whe
!, his mind is set on the Accomplishment
a of any object. When this man take
~ up the business of sheep-raising he is i
dead earnest. He knows nothing
thinks of nothing, but sheep; live
)" among them, studies and masters ever
J. detail of their management, aud instl
70 tutes rigid economy. He will hav
~ good sheep, good corrals, and probabl
W good sheds, but he will care little TO
70 the comforts of his cabin. One OF tn
IL most successful sheep men in this regio
le began by living in cave near Colora
ID do Springs. To loneliness the old
+ timer has long ago become stranger
lg DON PEDRO.
" There is in this cold and hollo,
10 world no fount of deep, strong, death
~ less love, save that within mother
boort -CHemans.