Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-01-24
Vermont Boys in Wyoming.
The Life That They Lead la Caring for
1000 Sheep---Tariff Comment.

The Life That They Lead In Caring for
5000 sheep---Tarifr Comment.
c. A. Gull and w. E. Gull, sons of Rev.
and Mrs. Thomas Crll of Brattleboro,
have been in Wyoming the past eight
years, five as herdsmen and three years as
owners of sheep. A letter written by
the former to a Vermont friend was print
ed recently in the Poultney journal, and
from it the following quotation is made:
We have 5000 head of sheep to winter
it would be novel sight for an eastern
person, or what we westerners call item
derfeet," to see our outfit. During the
summer months we travel around with our
sheep, have a heavy mountain wagon to
draw our tents and provisions in, the
wagon is rugged with bows and canvas and
is typical emgrant outfit. This season
we had four saddle horses besides our draft
team to draw the wagon. Horses are so
plentiful that every one rides here and we
stockmen want two or three so as to have
a change. People usually ride on the long
run and one horse could not do the work.
When an eastern farmer desires to drive 10
or 20 miles, he usually sits up all night so
as TO get good start the next morning,
while we will saddle our horses at noon
and cover 30 or 40 miles by night.
These mountains are full of small
streams and we travel from one stream to
another, camping in one place until the
feed is eaten off and Their moving to a
| fresh range we use no corrals or yards
for our sheep during the camping-out sea-
! son. We select a side hill or sage brush
to protect them from the cold wind and
they soon become contented to the system
and lie as well as they would in yard.
This camping out, though, has its draw
backs: we are obliged to sleep around our
sheep, having nothing but the sky for a
roof. We use heavy canvas sheets to roll
our bedding in, and in case of rain or
snow we are as dry as though we were
in house, but dressing these frosty No
vember mornings in the open air is no
pleasure. One would make an acrobat so
nimble does he become in the art of get
ting on the inside of a suit of clothes.
These hills and mountains are full of bears,
mountain lions, wild cats and wolves and
every precaution has to be taken to keep
them out of the sheep. We carry heavy
Colts six shooters, and are always ready
to accommodate anything in the way of
wild animal. During the warm weather
another drawback about sleeping on the
ground is the rattlesnakes. One usually
has cold chills shooting up and down his
spine when retiring for the night for fear
he might have a snake for a bed fellow.
We carry plenty of gocd w!.::..55issy anu Dot
Tie of medicine good Mrs. Guilder of East
Poultney sent us and feel as though we
could stand them off.
This is a great country for game, ante
lope, deer, elk, sage chickens, mountain
grouse, rabbits, and If hunter is looking
for blood he can tackle bear or mountain
lion.
We are now on our last camp for the
season and shall move to our ranch about
Dec. l. We are in the Black Hills in
what is known as the Sybille Springs coun-
try.
We have leased ranch on Dutton creek
for the winter. This ranch is located in
the foot hills of the great Medicine Bow
range of the Rockies and is a most delight
full place for the winter The house and
buildings are built in the bush to protect
them from the wind and storms.
Our sheep are now in one band but as
soon as we move to the ranch shall cut
them into two bands, as 5000 are too
many sheep to run in a single herd for the
winter. We seldom feed sheep unless
there is heavy fall of snow and no wind.
Usually the wind blows all the snow away,
so stock can Craze during the entire win
ter That is why we can run so many
sheep in this western country.
We sold our wool last spring for 81 cents
per pound at the freight house in Laramie,
and felt well pleased. with our sales, for it
was the highest price paid for wool on the
Laramie plains in three years. We expect
to see a Republican president next fall
and then confidently expect a tariff on
wool. That the coal and iron interests of
the South should be protected and the
great wool raising industry of the North
and West be placed in competition with for
eign countries with their pauper labor, is
to western sheepman an outrage; even
Cleveland's party is becoming sick and
disguised with the "stuffed prophet" and
would be glad to unload him at any price.