Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-12-08
SKILL OF THE SHEEP DOGS
Wondrous Intelligence Of This Kind
of the CANNES.
(kansas City Starr

herdS only companion, mis- collie uOS.
Perhaps the lherder has died in his little
cabin or tent and day after day the dog
has herded the sheep, putting them in
the corral at night and taking them out
to Craze in the early morning without
sign or word from his master. Perhaps
both master and dog have lost their
sheep in a binding, freezing storm, n
the dog is found lying on his masters
body in a snoWdrift, trying to keep it
from freezing. 1t is always the same
story of the dog, the brain of a man,
the heart of a woman Always intelli-
gent, always faithful unto death.
These sheep dogs came by their ma
ture and training honestly, for either
they or their ancestors came from the
sheep-dotted hills of England, Scotland
or Wales, where for generations past
the supreme effort of the shepherd has
been to produce a perfect sheep dog.
They have succeeded we'll, for NO man
| could excel them in sheep lore, no man
could be as useful to the sheep owner,
for mar is neither so persistent or agile,
possesses such endurance, or is so gen.
tie under training and reproof. The
dog does not reason as to the why and
wherefore of his affection, for the worst
sot of a brutal shepherd may have the
most faithful dog, n that will mind
the sheep ON the hills, patiently await
his masters coming from the tavern
and guide his reeling' footsteps to his
home.
On the great plains of the west these
dogs have made it possible for one man
to care for 5000 or 1000 sheep in "a flock.
All they ask is d bite to eat, and once
in awhile when their feet are filled with
the sharp spines of the cactus they will
come to have them taken out. There
is no value on a Well-trained sheep dog.
The well-bred collie which takes the
prizes at the bench show is beautiful to
look at, but his homelier brother, the
trained dog Of the range, is worth more
than he is beyond price. The sheep
owner holds him as beyond purchase.
The sheep herder who falls so low as to
part with his companion is yet to be
found, and if the dog We're to be bought
the buyer might rue his bargain, for
the master must go with the dog. They
are one, and work as ''one divided"
In the new country the work of the
sheep dog is hard; it 10 on d big scale.
In he old country the work is easier,
but it has it's finer points. In the new
nnI1ntr-xr tha doc ,1ua " 1riyra y nm Shnan
in the old country a dog may have to
drive three or four, which takes more
thought and skill. In the old country
the feature of every country fair in a
sheep district is the sheep dog trials. A
trophy is the annual prize, and the
shepherds and their dogs come from
afar off to try for the cup.
The field is cleared of the crowd.
Three sheep are taken in "a wagon to
the far end, perhaps into a bit of wood
and his dog must get these sheep to-
gether, drive them the length of the
field, through certain staked ways, back
again, through gaps in walls, through
gates and over bridges, and finally into
a pen built i'm the open with MO guiding
fences on either side and with but mar
row openings.
BY word, gesture and whistle the a
directed the dog at long range. The
dog keeps n eye ON his master and
n on the sheep. He sinks along close
to the ground or covers it at lightning
speed, as the need of the moment may
demand. He works the sheep with hu-
man intelligence and a speed and ener-
gy OF which no man lis capable. The
work of the trained sheep dog puts his
kind at the head of the list Of intelli-
gent animals.
These trials for the trophy are a great
feature OF life in the sheep countries.
Rivalries are engendered and often
neighborhoods divided over the respect
i've merits of the dogs. The day of the
trial is the great day of the country
fair, and the betting is high between
the factions. Looks do not seem to
count in this trial of skill, for the great
long haired collie of the type known in
lCd 10 llUU always Clle UeSl. Lie
dog that carries away the trophy may
be a little, short-haired, homely and
insignificant brute, which sinks to the
heel of his master like a creature of no
spirit, but send him after the sheep and
his whole character seems to change.
He is slow and gentle or quick and bold,
as the sheep may require. His whole at
titude is tense and nervous. No human
being could manifest a greater sense of
responsibility.
NO RIGHT TO UGLINESS.
The woman who is lovely in face,
form and temper will always have
friends, but one who would be attract
i've must keep her health. II she is weak,
sickly and all run down, she will be
nervous and irritable. If she has con
stipation or kidney trouble her impure
blood will u pimples, blotches. skin
eruptions and a wretched complexion.
Electric Bitters Is the best medicine in
the world to regulate stomach, liver and
kidneys and to purify the blood. It
gives strong nerves, bright eyes, smooth
velvety skin, rich complexi5n. It will
make a go%od-looking. charming woman
Of a rundown invalid. Only so cents at
Fischer & Co.'s drug store.
Notice for Publication.