The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-21
LIFE IN WEST TEXAS. |
SOMETHING ABOUT THE SHEEP AND
CATTLE INDUSTRY.

The Independe zee of the People
nlustrated-The Fad of Trophies OF
the base - Fun in Housing the
Chickens. -
kNICKERBocKER, Tom GREEN COUNTY,
TEXAS. Disc. lS-This place is on the north
ern edge o a great sheep and cattle range,
that Of the Pecos and Devil river. Through
it also runs one of the principal routes into
this range, 50 that hundred Of thousands of
sheep and cattle pass through here yearly,
or come to be watered, and the sheep
sheared and dipped. Here there is abun-
dance of water, di oping watts, and was, until
recently burned down, a great wool barn
and shearing shed.
There ara some features Of this western
stock business that are very distressing to a
tenderfoot. For instance it is not uncom-
mon to see great punches Of cattle brought
from twenty miles away, during a dry
time, TO water here at Dove creek. Here
they come, poor creatures, lowing and look
ing gaunt aud slnken with thirst. They
drink and drink, then lie down or stand
about il the heat and dust an hour or so,
then back again with their weary feet the
long twenty miles, the poor little bleating
| calves that can but just toddle, struggling
along behind.
Then at the shearipg sheds and dipping
| watts the stranger has his feelings narrowed
| up occasionally by what seems the unneces-
sarily rough way the poor sheep are yanked
about and cut by the Mexican shearers.
The dippi vat is long, narrow tank
| filled with a dark, evil-smelling, SIM tar
looking fluid called sheep dip 1t is COM
pounded of tobacco, sulphur and other
dainty and savory substances, mixed in
water. and fellows that are dipping" are
about as much cut Off from society as q man
| that's had a stormy interview with pole
cat.
Along one side Of the vat stand Mexican
herders, and, grabbing the sheep by horn,
| leg, an ear, or a tail, pile them into the
vat pell-mell. If one gets down in under
and seems likely to drown, he is hooked W
| bit and helped out with great long shep-
| nerds crook, such as one sees il pictures.
| If one is drowned-w doesn't often hap
| pen-he is hooked out and pitched to one
side. On the other side of the vat from the
clippers An incline leads up to the pens, and
up this incline it is at once pitiful and ludi-
crous to see the poor sheep crawl, exhausted
with their rich-colored and high.scented
bath streaming behind them. They are
dipped after each shearing, spring and fall,
| to cure and prevent "scG5."
| Twelve or fourteen years ago all this
| country about here was cattle and horse
range. | was talking the other evening with
| a gentleman-who was member of the firm
| who first brought sheep here, aud he told ne
| some stories showing what tough time
they had of it, and how the cattle men
kicked out the sheep.
"My chum and | came on ahead horse
back, leaving the sheep with The herders
down toward San Antonio. We we're just
fresh from New York. and wouldn't think
of going aud squatting upon land unless we
had some sort OF right or title, so we went
in to Ben Fcklin and leased some thousands
of acres right alb ut here.
"When we came back we pulled off our
coats and we're work. 6 away like Tfojans
buiIdi irrals, when an old fellow about
six and a half feet tail, and with long
barreled rife across his arm. rode up and
said, 'nel!o, what are you fellers doin'p
Building corrals, said l. we are going
to bring our sheep here
| e'What,' said he, that won't do-tbat
won't dol | can't have you bringing sheep
in herel Why, my Gait ell all run away
cattle won't eat over a range where sheep
have been-not fer monthsl Can't have
sheep he Q. / control all this country
round here-have for twenty years an
more
"Well, / said, we found fellow at Ben
Ficklin that said he owned this land. and
we've leased it from him, and we reck IN
we've got u right to run our sheep on our
own land
"'Leasedl Leased it," said the old man,
and he seemed stumped. We'll, it's tad
havin' sheep brought in here; but control
oil this land. You haven't leased-its my
range-and you must keep your sheep on
your own land
"Well, we brought our sheep, the cattle
failed to run away or make any demonstra-
lions at ALL and we had no trouble, only
occasionally some fellow tried to bluff u.s.
For inst lnce, several years later,
bought little pecan mott over here where
there's always ater, and here the next day
came a cowboy with note from Billy Will
Jams, manager Of the Thirteen outfit, stat
ing that he couldn't have any such doings
as those; the Thirteen cattle had run through
that land and watered there ever since it
had been a brand, and he couldn't have us
coming in buying it. But he said he wanted
to be perfectly feir about the matter. He
understood we had paid good m ney for the
land and now he would pay us back what
ever we gave and let US deed the mott to
the Thirteen company!
81 was pretty hot, and wrote him back
a sassy note saying we certainly had right
to buy such land as we chose, and run our
sheep on it, aud on the outside, too, if we
wanted TO, ana never nearu any HlOre
from him. .--
This placs, as l said, ia on the edge Of the
Devil river country, where coyotes, havi-
lenes wild hogs, wild cats and deer abound,
and an occasional panther or Mexican hon
is shot.
The get-up of my room Is quite barbar-
icallv lu curious. In the middle of the floor
is a Mexican lion skin with extended tail
half rod long, and claws worse to step on
than tacks. La front Of tae open fire is a
handsome deer skin, while before the bed
and in every possible place they can be
used, are spotted cat-skins and havilene
skins. Mexican hair qairts hang upon the
wa |, Mexican pottery stands upon the
shelves, aud an antel ope's head looks down
reproachfully at me with big liquid glass
eyes.
But the chef d suure of the apartment
is rabbit skin bla 1ke, which came from
the Hudson bay region, and vas made by
s9uaws. The skins are evidently tan ed
fl, cut in narrow strips, which are saved
t gether in a continu US string, twisted till
l. was like strand Of giant chenille then
knitted; the result is a beautiful, elastic,
fluffy blanket, about 254 inches thick.
JACK rabbit skins would make beautiful
one, and have resolved to nave one. We
reckoned that forty skins would make one.
have now shot, killed and skinned one
jack rabbit, and have only thirty more
10 shoot, when l will, as you may say, as
good as have my blanket.
These handsome skins Of which speak