Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-01-04

|ff%SN 49,
whole state would support a pair OF
horns per acre. but when the droughts
came they found their error, for on the
average 20 acres Gin some seasons 40
acres) would not support a horned head.
But that is not all. The springs of
water are not only owned by private
people; the streams are bounded on both
sides by patented claims, end what is
worse for the man from the east, practi-
cally all these people are in the sheep
and cattle business for themselves.
And then there is the trouble ever
present between the sheepmen and the
cattlemen. The presence of sheep in
terriers with the cattle, as the business
is ordinarily conducted, and a tender
foot sheepman would need all his forth
tude and a plentiful supply of cartridges
if cowboys took a notion to tell him to
git"
But this is not to discourage altogeth-
err an eastern man with a notion to try
he sheep business from coming to New
Mexico. If he will 60 at it in the right
| way he Is as sure to succeed as he would
be in any such business anywhere in
the world. First of all he must get a
water right, however. There are water
rights unoccupied in the territory that
can be had for the taking. They lie a
long ways back from the railroad, but
that Is not a serious drawback for a
sheep a 1t merely adds to the cost
Of getting supplies, marketing the clip,
and procuring help in the busy seasons
of Landing and shearing.
Having a sufficient supply of water,
the matter of getting an Independent
property is only a question of time,
really, though habits of economy and
diligence are as much needed here as
elsewhere. Every kind of crop will
grow ON irrigated land here, il the ranch
is not too high above the sea, that, will
grow in the states, and it is possible to
raise large quantities of feed for the
sheep. The natives have always de-
pended on the range for the support of
their hocks, but a little more work will
not only save the losses in the dry sea-
son; it will add largely to the profits in
any season. Diseases, saw for the I'M
ported scab, are unknown among the
flock, and the scab can be easily eradi-
Gated by running the iocks through a
swimming bath of the proper dip"
And as for the ''dip," a strong infusion
of tobacco, which the rancher can raise
for himself, is the best known.
Indeed it is not absolutely necessary
that an enterprising young mar should
have any great capital. AS the COVER
nor points out, it is the habit of the
sheep owners here to let out their flocks
on shares. Even a tenderfoot could get
employed for a year or so, while he
learned the business at $40 a month and
his board. Having learned it and ac-
cumulated a couple of dogs he would be
ready to take a flock on shares, and
from this as u start he should get a flock
seven years from his arrival in the ter
ritory would make him independent if
not rich.
Many tales have been written about
the effect Of the desert life on sheep
herders, and there is some foundation
for them, as the statistics of the insane
asylum show. 1t depends on the habits
and tastes of the man. One who finds
the society of zeal neighbors necessary
to his comfort would better stay away.
Near neighbors on the desert means
families living 40 miles apart. Men and
women ride 100 miles to attend q Christ
mas dance or a Fourth of July frolic
and think nothing of it. 1t is a lone
some country for the young man of
bibulous and convivial habits. For a
man and his wife who were fully agreed
on a business of this kind and who could
enjoy the outdoor life in what is well
called the sunshine land-especially for
n oor,, AIN xrln hol thn nCf,Ito1 topfoo a md
the culture that would enable them to
appreciate the wonders and beauties of
the desert-the region would prove
simply fascinating. There is no other
adjective to describe the attractions
which some people find in the region
that TO ordinary people is intolerably
dreary and repulsive. The reader will
remember that Darwin, after his mem
orable journey around the world, wrote
that he recalled the deserts of Pata-
gonia with more longing than he did
the most gorgeous of the tropical !
islands of the sea. In the matter of |
climate New Mexico is infinitely super
ior to Patagonia, while it's desert fea-
lures are at least equal to those of that
country.
For those who, like Darwin, can APP
preciate a region that is and must re-
main as God made it-for those, for in
who can appreciate the works
of either Darwin or Thoreau-the New
Mexico desert offers an ideal home and
the sheep business a vocation that will
furnish, at a minimum expense of time,
sufficient food, clothing and books for
every need.