Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-22
The IDEAL AND THE REAL.
Sheep HerderS and COWBOYS ON the
Range.
The difference Between the Shepherd
IN Poetry and the Sheep Herder
of Today-the Cattle Industry
The Profitable Business
of Sheep Raising.


Truly the imaginary shepherds of the
poets were objects of envy rather than Of
| pity. Shepherds and SheperdeSSeS were of
ethereal manufacture. Their crooks were
made OF heavenly palms and their pines
were loaned them by the angels. They
were always sitting on grassy mounds.
plSylng soft music, and aking love, while
those symbols of innocence, the sheen
seemed 10 have been trusted 10 care for
themselves. We might say that times
have changed did we not know that there
never were any such sentimental people
or any such companionahe animals.
Today the ShepherdeSS is not; the Shep-
herd Is a sheep herder more british
than any man;' quite as british rs
his sheep. Never We're poetry and fact at
greater divergence. As to the sheep,
we care for only his mutton and his wool,
and the wool Is just now a Shuttlecock for
the battledore of the politicians. Sheep
owners receive great deal of of conSidera-
tlon from them under the plea of ''protec-
ton of American labor" but rs for the
shepherd We think with RoSaliud that he
deserves no pity" And vet with the
possible exception of Il prisoner in the soil
tary confinement of a Jail, it would
be dlthcuit to hnd a more miserable wretch
than sheep herder here on these green
and tiowery meadows, in this delightful
climate and amidst this wonderful noun
tam scenery. He is in solitary conRne-
ment IN boundieSS space rs much rs it he
was shut up in prison walls Ii may be
that IN the first few days of his experience
he felt some unknown influence ti,ring
his soul to admiration Of the beauty
around him till pleasures lost their power
to please, and then, nor has it long to wait,
the whole business become blank to him.
He has come to stretch himself on the
ground or to wander hStleSSly around look.
ing at nothing but his -four or five thous-
and sheep and his half-doaeu dogs. He
sees no glorious sunrise or sunset no
shadows thrown by the mountains; he
hears no songs of the larkS, no music of
the stream and he inhaes no fragrance of
the flowers His soul has left his body
before Its time. Once when met sheep
herder on the range was accustomed to
draw up and speak to him | thought
that he would be glad to hear a human
voice, that he would have something to
say in return. and that If | left a news
paper with him he would like to know
what was gong ON in the world outside.
But he met me with a vacant stare.
scarcely replying yes or no to my questions.
sometimes taking the newspaper out of the
little pohtenesS that was left in his mental
wreck but often declining it altogether.
ito not trouble him any more but pass
him 10y aS pass by his sheep and his dogs
1t Is SAID that In the State IunatiC Asylum
OF California there are more sheep herdcrS
than men of any other four occupations
combined.
The cowboy is a specimen of very diff
ferent type. He is always in the saddle
and ON the move. He has no time for
melancholy ana for this sort of self-des-
tructlOn, but he has an excess of hiIarIty
which not unf,equently leads to the dcs-
truction of others. Drunkenness, which
would be eXcusable, does not prevail
among the sheep herders, but it is the
vice Of the cowboys, who should have
sufficient excitement without it, The cow
boy does not get into the unatic asylum.
but he sometimes gets into the ppniten-
tiary, and he should get there more often.
The sheep herder is inofcnsive because his
brain is stupihed. The cowboy is mt
heart a genial, cOmpanionablc fellow. He
Is always ready to ride 10y your side, glad
to tell you all he knows and to learn some
thing from yod if he can. He is grateful
for Il newspaper or a book to take into
camp. He Is offensive only when his
brain is fired by liquor, and then he is in
deed terror.
These notes upon sheep herders and
cowboys naturally lead up to Il considera-
ton of the industries they represent. The
sheep business in this region is rapidly in
creasiHg, while tie cattle business is by
no means as prosperous rs it has been
Unlimited ranges for cattle are no longer
since. to a great extent. the
land has been fenced. Moreover, the trail
of sheep is so poisonous to the grass that
the cattle will not eat it. More than all,
the Big Four of Chicago have estab-
lished a monopoly 10y which they have en-
tue control of the market for beef and
have fixed the price, as have already
stated in a former letter, a such figure
that the profit is very small As yet, the
sheep market has come under no such con
troll, and il continues to he the most profit
able business Of Idaho Utah, New Mexico
and of the vast era generally.
There are exceptional winters, ike the
last when tne"e is a heavy loss of cattle
and of sheep, but for the most part of the
latter Craze and keep in good condition
all the year. In ldaho they feed on the
richest grass in summer and autumn,
and in the winter they are driven down to
the ranges III Utah and Nevada. They
may Dt sdlu 10 bt CouiIuudllE at Hb IA
pense to their owners, although at great
expense to the cattle owners whose feed
they destroy. it cost no more than 80
cents per head to keep sheep per year,
and that includes the shearing. The
wethers are only shipped to market, the
ewes and a few rams being retained for
breeding The annual increase may be
estimated at Is per cent as they are fire.
quently two or three at birth. Of course
there must he percentage allowed for
losses, but that depends greatly on the
care and intelligent management. Eight
pounds of wool is a fair average of the
fleece. 1t is seldom that the price on the
spCt is as low as l6 cents per pound, and
it is often much more Thus there is
profit of Is cents per pound on the wool
each sheep which is increased by Is cents
every year, beside the profile arising from
the sale of the wethers sent TO market and
netting - per head after they are sheared.
| have these facts from the sheep rasiers
themselves Protection! In this region
they mutton may lie all thrown away,
and profit will remain upon the wool; or
the wool may be all thrown away, and "A
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