, 1890-05-22
A VERY GREEN HAND.
The Adventures of a Tenderf0ot
Sheep Herder.
He Had Been a Tender of FIocks
at Philadelphia.
Lost on the Range in a Most Re-
,markabIe Costume.

WILLOW SPRINGS RANCH, Wyo., May
2l.-This is a busy time on the Warren
ranch and a large number of new men are
now being employed. Every evening the
wool wagon brings out to Willow Springs
a batch of new employees and among them
are some odd characters. Not a few are
fresh from the East and have no more
idea of the work for which they were
hired than an oyster has Of Easter. Most
of them are financial wrecks and fearful
of losing their places before making a
stake" pretend to a knowledge of the
business, trusting to luck to carry them
through.
Among the recent arrivals is a German.
who was engaged at the Cheyenne Office
as a herder. He is a good fellow and
means well enough, but a. far as Western
people and Western ways are concerned
he is as ignorant as the traditional colt OF
the hypothetical Thompson. He gave
his occupation as a butcher. and is no
doubt a good one, but he went to work on
the ranch because he could find nc work
at his trade and starvation was staring
him in the face. When asked by the
foreman if he knew anything about sheep,
he replied with a confident air: 80; /
bert me some sheep in Philiamadelfy we're
| vas mine trate gelearnt." Accordingly
he was given a small band Of sheared
sheep and Il dog and sent out
with them to Craze. The day
was raw and chilly. a keen wind
was blowing of the mountain and when
the butcher had prepared himself for the
duty assigned HIM, he was certainly the
most unique herder of sheep ever seen
within the boundaries of the territory.
His garb was peculiar and but little Of it
adapted to the range. He wore a stiff
hat, a white shirt, collar and cuffs, a pair
of blue ~overalls turned up a foot or more
at the legs and a borrowed overcoat SO
large that it covered him like unto a
mantle. As he followed the sheep over
the hill, his dog trailing at his heels. led
by a string, a gust of wind inflated the
huge overcoat and he presented the ap-
pearance Of an animated hogshead, with
a dudish hat resting iauntily on the spigot,
out for a stroll. About IL O'Clock he
came in with his band to see if there was
any new orders for him and was sent
back with the injunction not TO keep TO
near the sheep as it kept them running.
An hour afte-ward he was met by another
herder who was returning to the corral,
but his sheep were no where 20 be
seen. The poor fellow was in
a terrible state of excitement and was
talking a jargon of German, French and
broken English out of which the herd r
managed to understand enough to know
that the sheep were lost. He was told
to hunt them, and frightened half to
death by his stupendous blundcr, he
started of in what was afterwards learned
to be the opposite direc ion from
that taken by the sheep. When
the report of the loss reached
the foreman a man was dispatched
on horseback to look for them. He
found them IN a half hour quietly lying
down, but theiman who herded sheep in
Philadelphia was no where to be seen.
After a ride Of an hour he was discovered
several miles from where the sheep were
found, wandering around like one de
mented, still holding his dog by the string
without the remotest idea of where he
was or how he got there. When he re.
covered he explained his blunder by
- H.. -.lzl IL. -. H. -
over a hill and when he reached the top
they bad gone out of sight, and he AYERS
that if he should live to be as old as
Me.husala no band of.sheep will get away
from him again. He is, however, a
good natured fellow and at this writing is
waiting for a favorable night to 90 snipe
catching with the boys. j. b. w.