Arizona weekly citizen., 1889-06-01
IN NEW MEXICO ?
APicTuResoUE FEATURE OF soUTH. . WESTERN SHEEP RAISING.

Lambing time being safely past, th.
 spring shearing follows at once. I'm
 Navajos shear but once a year. bu,
 nearly all other sheep owners twice-ir
 May and September. The shearing is thf
 most picturesque feature of southwestern
 sheep raising. It would fairly paralyz<
 an eastern wool grower. whose men lay
 their subjects on table and shear thirty
 so forty head day per man, to watch
 the operation in New Mexico. It is lighs-
 hing thrice fabricated Each man shears
 from 75 to 150 head a day, and it Is of
 record that in 8 contest 6 single man haa
 sheared over 200 3heep between sunrise
 and sunset The shearing point is chosen
 usually as near the railroad as possible,
 to save carriage, it being much cheaper
 and easier to transport wool on the hoof
 than in the sack. A corral about 10 fee.
 high Is built of railroad ties or cedar
 posts; the army of shearers comes trudg-
 ing in from all quarters of the compass
 Iexicans, Pueblos and a few Navajos;
 the first flock is brought down from the
 hills. and the fun commences. With
 shouts and carajoes and flying sticks, tzs
 flock is turned In toward the corral, the
 little band of goats serving as an advancs guard and pilot. Fat, rotund and woolly, they jam into the corral, from which they are to emerge in few houe the shorn and shabby shadow of their former selves, and likely patched with many crimson nick Within the inclosure are from fifty to eighty shearers. each with his own par ticular station at the inside of the fence.
 And now the 2,5OO sheep are in. the gap is closed and the ball opens.
 Three quarters of the area of the corrnl Is one dense mass of huddled wool Ii seems impossible that living creatures can be packed SO tight A rat tossed apon their backs would have to run on wool to the other side of the corral before he could reach the ground Unable to move more than their heads, with inglo- rious unanimity of tail turned toward the common foe. trembling and breathless, the timid creatures await their fate. There Is grand rush of the shearers. Each man grabs sheep by the hind legs or by the wool-if he be ambitions be takes one In each hand-and runs to his place dragging his reluctant victim back. ward behind him Then he throws the theep upon It's side. gathers it's four little feet into bunch and ties them with soft. coarse cord or thong. Then he is rushed back to the bunch for more, and 30 on until he has as big a row of captives as he can lay out without crowding his neighbors on either hand Then, graspins : bunch of legs in his left hand and the keen sheep shears in his right. he wades ln It is a pretty sight to see an exper. shearer at work With lightning rapidity and marvellous dexterity he drives the heavy shears down through the dense and matted wool. rolling it down from the sides as If 1t were solid fabric which ,ne might pick up entire; sliding the cszor like blades unhesitatingly over the ,ngles and into the hollows, hidden by their thick coat. but seldom nicking the 'kin- The current wages for shearers are two cents per head for common sheep, three cents for improved sheep. and board 4 good shearer, therefore. makes good money for this country, ss he will shear I25 sheep day.
 Slowly around the corral paces the 'corer- In his right hand is a pencil; In lis left Is piece of cardboard. with num- ,ers from one up to the aggregate of the ihearers running down its left hand edge, md each number commanding line of ts own across the card Every few sec- 'nds comes cry from some part of the orraL "Viente-unoI" "Cuarante-seisl' 'Numero cincop as the case may be, each 'en delivered with that emphatic unction which seems indigenous here. Each man eceives & number at the commencement # the shearing season. and 1t serves him g a name until its close. The yell. there ore. means merely that Jesus Romero dubbed No 21-has finished hearing a sheep. and the scorer tallies ne to his credit accordingly.
 Saving wood-an occupation which in be east has some notor:sty as 6 spine prainer-is simple nap as compared to he New Mexican fashion of sheep shear ng. which Is, perhaps, the most fatiguine york in the world The sheep Is on the round, the shearer Is on his feet, bent ill his hands are within three inches to a pot from the ground. and in this attituds Torking twelve hours. with half an hours | for dinner.
 ln an incredibly short time the shearer as done with his six or eight first victims nd untiea them all They go skipping ack to their companions. looking and | ossibly feeling something like Q boy | Itose clothes have been stolen while he | 'as swimming It Is pretty safe prop sition that the world doesn't contain . orrier. forlorner specimen than 6 shoru | heep. And at our New Mexican attitudes from 5000 to 5000 feet above the sea dwindled wool wearers are oubtless anxious for that proverbial tenn ering of the wind aoa |
 Having sharpened his shears on . fat lndstone. the shearer collars another atch of recalcitrant victims and goes on ith his breakback job. Meanwhile a .unted laborer gathers up the feeces in
 g piece of burlap and carries his bundle , the corral Here. upon four tall. strong osts, set firmly in the ground and framed | ] with boards at the top. hangs a huge 1rlap sack from whose neck project the cad and shoulders of man, who is busy amping the wool down with his feet. is companion. perched upon the boards ,ove. takes the feeces from the gatherer Id dumps them into the bag. When the 'ck Is full 1t Is sewed up and rolled aside. 5 place on the hooks being taken by an npty one All day long two little pais- los are trotttng about inside the corral
 med with wisps of greasewood. with hich they sweep into the corners each | Aoy AVSA VI nOSAs nuC4 HOU&8 St8c< WlS$ | lost.
 Meanwhile the sacks have been weighed, i'd upon each has been marked its weight 'eraging 225 pounds-with the initials
 brand marks of the owner, and bloodier 1t equally important work has been ing on little way from the corral, at e l out post. The shearers must eat, and ere is nothing SO cheap as mutton. So nile the multitudinous click of the ears fills the rare. bright air, two strap ng fellows are busy all day killing and essing fat wethers. Close by are ths camp fires and greasy kettles
 the men. who eat like sin
 When the sun sinks behind the long ssas the shears are instantly still and 8 men crowd to supper. A little later ss them rolled in their blankets upon g ground. snoring away their fatigue peep O day again renews the bustla New Mexico Cor. Globe Democrat.