Arizona republican., 1898-01-30
THE SHEEP OF ARIZONA.
in the Salt River Valley
 for Shearing.


 The sheap ctWners of Arizona feel | better this year than they have for | four ye'7rs past. Their industry, which | was allowed to go to ruin by a demo- | cratic congress putting them in com petition with wool growers in Mex icO and other foreign counties, is be- ing rapidly restored to it's old time prosperity under the operations of the Dingley tariff. 1t is estimated thac 50 per cent of the sheep men of Ari- zoDa who were actively engaged in sheep raising prior Ito the free trade experiment went to the wall during the life of that disastrous law But they are happy now, and the profits from the bountiful harvest which is now in progress will give them a good start upon a new era of good times And to add to their good fortune the elements have given them the most favorable conditions for "lambing'' they have had in a long time George Scott, the we'll known sheep man, says that 80 per cent will rep resent the average lambing this year with the good early feed which the late rains promise. Mr. Scott holds record in lambfng which is the envy of every sheepman in the territory In band of l, 100 ewes MT. Scott got 1900 lambs.
 A conservative estimate places the number of sheep in the valley ready to be shsared at 13O,0OO. One sheep man places the figures at 140,0O0, and every one has his own figures. A Republican reporter visited number of leading sheep owners yesterday, | to md <o1,- -nri,1 fo, names of those who have bands here, together with the number of bands each has. This information follows: WinElow-Caat & Noble, four bands. Flags.a aff-Campb & Francis, sev- el; Bill Campbell, three. ge Ash Fork-Joe Rice, three; MT. Sterling, one; C. Hu. chinson, two; j. Q. Atkinson, four; Frank Evart, two: MT. Renner, one
 Show Low-Scott Bros, four; J. E Porter, one; Clarenae Morrow, one; Cole Campbell, four; William Morgan, three; MT. LoTgmore, three; John Nelson, three; A. & B. Schuster, four; Lorenza Baca, one; Archie Cameron, one; Amos Brios., two; J. D. Houck, | four.
 This gives a total of fif5y-eight bands
 "A band of sheep contains from l. 500 to 2,500, and no two bands have 1 the same number in it. This makes 1t impossible to give the exact num- Der Of sheep. The camps are located fifty miles north of Phoenix in the foot hills of the mountains. As soon as the desert grass begins to shooa up | the sheep wiM be taken out of the 1 foothills and driven onto the desert l near the Arizona canal
 Charles Goddard has received l contracts for shearing from a large number of the sheep owners covering in the agere- l gate 85,000 head. A second shearing camp has been established this year where the balance of the sheep will l give up their wool A days shearing numbers from 2,500 to 5000 sheen. according to the men employed and 1 the facilities for doing the work. The contractor this year ges about s cents head for shearing and bring ing the wool to Phoenix.
 A. Vandewisrt, a we'll known wool buyer from Boston, is here buying wool. To Republican reporter he said that the exact number of shs CD in the territory at the present time is very near 500,000. He buys about 50 per cent of the wool produced by Arizona This year he has con trtacted for 2,500,00O pounds He fig ures that each sheep produces eight and one-half pounds, being the aver age of the aggregate yield. His de- duct1ons are as correct as il is pos sible to obtain, and all we'll informed sheepmen in the city yesterday said that the figures given by MT. Vande- fWlart came nearer the exact number than they were able to give
 The price paid for wool this year
 will be between 12 and IA cents psr pound. Last year the price was about 1K cents, an increase this year of about 50 per cent over 1897. Last year
 the pmce paid for sheep was $2.30 and
 $2.75 per haSG. At these figures 100 :
 Oc0 were sold in Arizona. This year
 the prices will range from $3 to S. 50
 per head. It is estimated that the
 same number of sheep will be sold this
 year as last, and 35,OO0 will be re-
 talneid to raise the bands for the mar
 kets of 1899. There is a great in
 crease in the number of sheen ra:se d
 since the last shearing, and this is eyi- dent everywhere in the territory The whole number brought here for shearing this year is probably 15 90. more than last year. In fact it is g better year all around, and the neE season starts off in way that makes
 the siheepmen look for even better results at the next seasons close. , The great increase in the number ot sheep raised III Arizona demands thu adoption ff flew plans for shea ~ice and handling wool. The delays of thg old method have become unsatisfac , tory to sheep owners. The Santa Fe , Prescott and Phoenix Railroad com
 pany has prepared plans Of plan 7 for shearing and handling wool whicf
 will facilitate the work to a great ex P tent. The company will erect a plan at Peoria immediately, which thes : will hand oVsr to shearing contract 7 ors ten dars after the material fol the construction of the plant arrives t IL has been delayed by the tunnel ac