Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-02-06
VERMONT BOYS IN WYOMING.
The Life That They Load in Caring for
1900 Sheep Tariff Cou,,nant

5000 sheep Tariff Comment.
c. A. Gull and w. E. Gull sons of Rev.
| and Mrs Thomas Gull 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 Vermont friend was print
| ed recently in the Poultney Journal, and
| from 1t the following quotation is made:
We have $500 head of sheep to winter;
1t would be novel sight for an eastern
person, or what we westerners call ten
| 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 a typical emigrant outfit. This season
| we had four saddle horses besides our
draft team to draw the wagon. Horses
are so plentiful that everyone rides here
and we stockmen want two or three so
as to have change. People usually ride
on the long run and one horse could not
do the work When an eastern farmer
desires to ride 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 then moving to a
fresh range; we use no corrals or yards
for our sheep during the camping-out sea-
son. We select side hill or sage brush
to protect them from the cold wins 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
roof. We use heavy canvass sheets to roll
our bedding in, and in of a rain or
snow we are as dry as though we were
IL 1raa ait,sr Mo-
yember 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 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 n
wild animal. During the warm weather
another drawback about sleeping on the
ground Is the rattlesnakes. One usually
. has cold chils 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 good whisky and bot
tie of medicine good Mrs. Guider of East
Poultney sent us and we 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 a 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
country.
We have leased a ranch on Dutton
creek for the winter. This ranch Is To-
Gated in the foot hills of the Great Med
icine Bow range of the Rockies and Is
n most delightful 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 $500 are too
many sheep to run in 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 So cents
per pound a the freight house at Laramie.
and felt well pleased with our sales, FOR 1t
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 competitor with for
egn countries with their pauper labor, is
to n 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.