Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1884-09-03
A SHEEP STATION.
of an Australian Shepherd.
Sheep.Ealsing ln the AntipOdal Con.
tinent-DIsposision Of the Wool.
CIip-Canneries for Pre-.
serving the Mutton.
fAmerican Agricultural


Australian she herds lead life nearly as
Iatriarchial as Tartar's. A wild and lonely
existence is theirs. and only men Of iron
physique culd undergo it. Two shepherds
always chum together, one acting as hut
keeper, while the other is ont upon the range.
They travel from range to range as the graz
ing grows poor and the country is dotted
with Ia III lie slab huts they find shelter in
Their fare is OF tn. rud st. Consisting Of
"damper,n sort of bieid made Ct -four and
water, bale N the wood en5er., mutton
| and ia OF IN q years IN. luxury of canned
meats occa ioaally falls t, their share To-
| bacco is their only luxury. and battle with
the ileas which infest Their hut their only
| rest.
The Australian wool growers greatest
enemies are the catarih, the scab the foot
rot, which is caused by marshy grazing
grounds, bad servants who neglect the flocl;s,
and the wild dogs The latter were once a
formidable foe indeed, but their destructive
hordcs have been greatly decimated by the
hunters, who shot them by thou
sands, to obtain the bounty offered
for their scalps These dogs will hunt
| flock Of sheep as Systematically as men
| conduct a drive Of deer. They surround
and close in on them, rending and devour-
ing all in their path. Great fiocks are often
| stampeded by them, when the sheep run until
they drop exhausted, or struggle into some
| stream and are drowned
The shepherds dog is as sagacious and
true friend to his woolly charges as the
wild dog is relentless foe. Sheep
raising has produced in Australia
a peculiar breed of dogs, different in
many appearances from the European
shepherd dog, but akin to it in all good quail
ties. These dogs seem TO know all the sheep
| in a flock. They will hunt for stragglers
miles away from the hut, and either drive
them in or watch them. if they happen to be
exhausted, until they gather sufficient
strength TO walk 1t is common thing in
traversing the grazing country to come upon
one of these noble brutes ON guard over
strayed or broken down sheep, and woe be-
tide the stranger who attempts to lay hands
ON his helpless protege.
In addition to the wool crop, the Austria
lians derive huge revenue from the boiling
down Of sheep. Boiling down was originally
resorted to on the occasion of a panic forty
years ago, when sheep could not be sold in
the local market. Then the surplus of the
herds was reduced 10 tallow, and market
for that commodity opened in England.
Some years after, huge canneries for the
preservation of the mutton were started with
satisfactory results Now the sheep grower
makes capital out Of the flesh and fat of his
Hooks as well as their wool Another ex-
terisive trade is the preparation by sailing
and smoking of mutton hams, which are
used for ships food throughout the Indian
seas
A sheep station is the center or headqcar-
tiers of "A range. Here the proprietor lives,
surrounded by his overseers and storekeepers.
In addition to the proprietor's and his subor-
dinates' houses, the station consists OF few
shops, some barracks for the Shepherds and
paddocks covering hundred, of acres, all
fenced and posted as stoutly as can be- The
largest buildings at a station are the shearing
and sorting sheds, and all the important
stations low appear TO have huge steam
presses for b;tleing che wool At the smaller
stations the hand-presS is used. Small sheep
owners drive their herds into the large sta
tions and there sell the W .ol
This disposition of the wood-clip. has given
existen e toa charac er In the shape of the
buyer OF WOOL, who is known among the
small growers as tie 1wJol-worn." The
the flock, ard the improviiamt sheepmel Ike
advantage of this and pay usurious interest
for the accommodation These wool buyers
have the country dis;rictel One never
trenches on thu ctaers ground and one ard
al are said to lie willing {, advance mo1ey
on the clips severs years ahead The result
is that many ilocls ar, nm ,tr psrpetua
mortgage. IN / in the end ia into the han:
h..
they find mere r1ft in buying wool tia in
raising il.
As the shearing season comes around the
iiocks are driven To the stations where they
belong. Watering carts keep the dust laid,
as day after day the woolly legions come
marching into the paddocks. If the weather
is rainy, they are sheltered in the large
Sweating sheds into which from zoos. TO
5000 sheep can be- packed at a time. When
the campaign is ready 10 open the 'yarders"
are mustered 10 duty. which is to keep the
shearers supplied with subjects. Then the
animals pour into the shcarng sheds i'll a
steady stream. They are kept in pens there
until shearei, and tl.en turned loose to be
marked and penned until they are driven
out on the ranges again.
The fleece hav.ng been clipped, is passed 10
the wool tables where It Is sorted and
"skirted,' or cleaned of the rough dirt which
adheres to it. Australian wool is divided
into first, second, and third qualities, before
il goes 10 the pres
The laboreis at the station work day and
night in shearing time. From the proprie-
tor down, they enjoy only the briefest rest
The wool having been pressed, the bales are
weighed and marked with the distinguishing
marks of the station. The transportation to
market, on the nearest railroad station takes
place in huge platform wagons, drawn by
six or eight horses or oxen. These wagons
carry from thirty to forty bales TO load
The station fills up with pedlers of all sorts
Of wares, not forgetting the sly grogsnan,'
who is the master of bar-room on wheels
Between the and the regular shop-keepeIs
most Of tie money made by the laborers at
the shearing, is gotten rid Of before they
leave.