Wichita eagle., 1889-03-19
POOR JOE'S JlGGERS.
Awful Wreck Of Young Mans Mi10
Caused by Counting Sheep

Awful Wreck Of Young Mans Mis6
Caused by Counting Sheep
WHATS the matter with your hicndr'
asked a San Francisco Examiner reporter
OF q young man with Q broad white bat.
corduroy trousers and q WOODEN shirt, who
was trying 10 induce his companion, SINH
larry clad, to move on
"He's got the sheep jiggers."
1.-The sheep pggersl What's thatr de-
manded the questloner.
"Why, We see, in our business we have To
count our sheep twice day-mornin' and
night Joe, here Sheepherder Joe he's
called up IN the Pine creek country-he's
been tending bunch of nigh on 70 six
thousand sheep, and IL has purity near druy
him clean daft q couutin' Of 'em so much.
HE scarcely gets time for any thing
else. Very often sheepherder gets on bis
cabasar on this account, and that's why we
call it the sheep jiggers.
"Jist We watch him a minute Ye see,
he's got ten little pebbles or tiggers IN his
right hand. Now hen count from one up
TO hundred, and then he'll pass one of
them jiggers into his left hand. When he
gifts all Of the Jiggers into his len hand THAI
viii make one thousand, and h9n cut
notch in the rim Of his hat or bis boot heel
didn't We never notice the notches cut
in the rim OF q sheep buckaroo's haiti That's
what IL means.
"When joe gifts thousand counted he
counts another thousand and passes the
jlggers back into his right hand, and keeps
on back and forth all day II we let him"
Here the young man took on his bat, cut
q neat notch in the brim with his jack
knife, put IL back on his head and resumed
counting.
Poor Joer' said his companion I'VE
brougtrten him down here thiukin' the life
and hustle Of the city might help him, but
it's no use. He jist stands IKE ye see him
ali day long and counts people for sheep,
Just the same as II he was on the Msdaline
plains.
"What's that Did I ever have the jig
gersi Well, yes; ouct was out In the
foothills Of the Siskiyou range, workin' FOL
Dan Wheeler, and / had so much trouble
with coyotes and underbrush that used &c
count my flock OF sheep three times day
dnn have no time for any thing else, aud
it mighty near took me Of my base.
81 could see sheep jumpin' over the bars
night and day, and could hear their eternal
blat riD GIN In my head like Boalan gers
march ia a hand-organ- l couldn't do moth
in but count, count, couut, and when got
through couldn't Tell how much IL came 70.
Every thing looked like sheep. The beans
looked like little sheep and the hills looked
like big sheep.
"The TN cups and the fry.n' pans looked
like sheep Ny Dutch oven looked Ike
IA; sheep, and the knsves and forks looked
hike hsAn sheep
"T'he clouds nod ths stars koked ike
sfseep, and The moon stood over re a. Digtls
Ike q bag bail wcsher aud made ns oeso<
bin milina times untt ray head fsar'y
cracked
1T was sheep. sheep everywhcre md 40
reitef. Oh. II vas swfLlf' and t<e yoans
mac, with ebsod eyes, p~eSsad Lbs hands w
bis ttrob htne brow and grpansd as be re-
called thai dreadful exS,ersDce
sHov nd care ~ weut into town add
got bttfn' drunk"
Wtea p.e reporter ht poor Joe wss s;sil
STANDING in the Sane place counting psorss
a. they passed aud ohAassng the -tgssrs"
from oae hand 70 Tia o<tssr.