Omaha daily bee., 1898-11-13

by horses. All herdlng OF sheep Is done
upon horses and with shepherd dogs, which
are raised and trained for the purpose.
Notwithstanding all this, the islands are
excellent for cattle and sheep. The lati-
tude here is about that OF Holland, and
the animals feed out all the year round.
Before sheep we're introduced the islands
fairly swarmed with wild cattle and wild
horses. About forty years ago 1t Is esti-
mated that there we're 500, 900 wild cattle
on the island. Now these have all disap-
peared and almost that many sheep have
taken their places. The wild cattle were
the first cause Of the settlement Of the
islands. A rich cattle aud hides dealer Of
Montevideo named Lafone bought the right
to the southern part OF East Falkland and
all Of the wild cattle on the islands In 1874
for $780, 900 down and the promise to pay
$1OO, 900 additional In ten years from 1852.
In this deal he got over 900, 900 acres OF
land and the skins of the wild cattle.
In 1852 he sold out his property to the
Falkland Islands company for $50, 900 and
since then this company has been the lead
Ing power In the Falklands. 1t has bought
more land, and 1t now probably has more
than a million acres. 1t has about SOC, 900
sheep and 1t has a sailing vessel which goes
to London once a year to carry its wool
and bring back the canned goods, clothes,
sheep farming implements and other things
required by the islands. 1t has a line OF
boats which periodically make the round
Of the Islands, carrying the farmers such
goods as they order and bringing their wool
to Stanley for shipment to Europe. The
wool Is put UP in bales Just as we bale
cotton. Much Of 1t goes to the markets
by the regular steamers. That on which I
came is now loading in the harbor. 1t will
take on 1900 bales Of $50 pounds each,
which, at 10 cents a pound. the price it will
bring in London, will make the cargo worth
| $50, O00.
Among the Shepherds.
1t does not take many shepherds to care
for these large flocks Of sheep. The farms
are divided up into fields OF several thou
sand acres each and fenced with wire fences,
so that all the shepherd has to do Is to ride
! about among the sheep. His fife is spent
! upon horseback, each shepherd being sup
piled with six horses. The shepherd watches
the flock, he takes the sheep out of the boys
when they fall in and turns them over IL
they fall down. The sheep mere, as in Pata-
gonia, are large and fat, some Of the. weth-
ers weighing from so to 100 pounds. When
such sheep roll upon their backs they cannot
get up. II left alone in this condition they
would lie and kick until they died, were 1t
not that they are killed long before by the
birds. The buzzards here hover over the
sheep. They watch them day and night, and
the moment a sheep is on Its back they
swoop down upon 1t and pick out its eyes.
They keep picking at 1t until it dies in
agony. An hour or so later they have ripped
It's skin open and torn the flesh from its
L~nzo IT, A-Hh --- A.: l. G--u
ceivable how the buzzards find the sheep al
most the moment they fall, and that they at
tack them even In the night. The sheep
also fall into holes, Of which there are many
all over the islands. 1t is the shepherds
business to get them out. They have to be
clipped to keep off the scab, and at shearing
time, which lasts for two months, they are
driven to the wool shed and shorn. They
are not washed, as are our sheep, before
shearing. The wool is carefully cut off, put
into bales Of 600 to 500 pounds, covered with
bagging hoped with iron, and shipped thus
to London for safe. Most Of the sheep are
Of the cheviot and Australian breeds. They
give heavy f~1eeces, the average being from
eight to ten pounds, and running from that
up to twenty-one pounds, which was the
actual weight Of a fleece cut off this sea-
son.
~ Lonely LlIcs
This life of the shepherds must be q lonely
one. They are, you know, all Scotchmen,
who have been brought out here from Scot
land for the purpose. Most Of them are
married and have large families. Their
houses are scattered over the farms from
fifteen to twenty miles apart. They are
usually built near a little inlet. where the
company's boat can bring their supplies,
| mud uaar a paat bod Tha pr0pr{ofOr q yo
each shepherd from s25 to $35 a month and
furnishes his meat and fuel. The meat is
mutton, which he can take from the flock,
and the fuel is peat, which he must dig out
himself. In addition to this he has a garden
patch and with mutton and vegetables he
does very we'll. His -four and other things
he must buy. His home Is q little cottage
of two rooms and a ~lean-to, rooted with
corrugated iron. One room serves as n
kitchen and living room and in the other
the family sleeps. II there is an overflow OF
a guest the loft or attic Is also used as a
bedroom. The cooking is done in a curious,
oven-like pot, which Is shelved under a
CRATE set in the stone wall Of a chimney
or fireplace. The fuel Is peat and the hot
ashes fall down upon the pot and around 1t.
The pot is tightly closed at the top and it
serves for boiling, baking and stewing. The
shepherd has mutton as a steady diet. he
has mutton chops for breakfast, roast mutton
for dinner and a slice Of cold mutton for
supper or lunch. The shepherds seldom
leave their farms and the women almost
never. l heard Of one woman who has not
been to town for eighteen years. Her last
visit was when she came to Port Stanley to
be married. Think Of living away out on
the dreariest moorland, under the dreariest
sky, in a two-roomed cottage. with no neigh
Dor within fifteen miles and Of coming into
town once In eighteen years.
Travelling SchOOlmasters.
You would think the children brought up
under such conditions would be wild and
uneducated. They are not. They are as in
t~elligent and well hammered children as you
would find In any country community. They
have a peculiar institution in the Falklands
known as the travelling schoolmaster. He is
paid by the government, receiving about $500
a year, to 90 from one shepherd family to
another and teach the children. The time
allotted to each family Is a fortnight, and If
three families can bring their children to-
gether they thus get six weeks Of school.
The schoolmaster lives two weeks with each
family and at the end Of the time, having
laid out a course Of home study for the
children. Ia sent on horseback by the shep-