Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-11-16
HERDERS OF THE WEST,
How the Riotous Cowboy Compares with
the Lonely Sheep Hertler.

HOW the hiotous Cowboy Compares with
the Lonely Sheep Herder.
Captain ]. II. McClintock writes as
| follows in Ainslees Magazine: "In
the character of the men who care for
! the herds and flocks can be found an
Interesting subject for study. The cow
boy, il he be the genuine article, is a
man who daily does feats on the range
that would win applause at a wild west
! show. In his chase after the fleet, un-
branded yearling, he is compelled to
ride at headlong speed over country
that a fox hunter would consider sure
death. Danger confrontS him in va
ried form, and no man can be an etfi-
/ cient cow-puncher who hasn't in him
the spirit of recklessness. The writer
once witnessed stampede of wild
cattle at midnight a great herd was
being held in a canyon of the Mazat-
zal mountains. The night was as dark
as it Is possible for night to be. A coy
ote's bark started the nervous animals
to their feet, and they were off. The
two riding guards on watch howled
| for help. Their sleeping comrades
were up in a twinkling Each seized
horse at the picket line and mounted
without saddle, stopping only to twist
loop of his RATA about the pony's
nose. Barely q dozen seconds had
passed before the campfire was de-
serted. The cowboys We're plunging
in the dark after the fleeing cattle,
| through a wild, rocky unknown dis
| trlct, filed with mesquite and cactus,
cut up by dangerous arroyos and can
yons. By noon of the succeeding day
! the drive was resumed. A half-doZen
steers had been left behind, lamed or
dead in the gulches, while few of the
horses in the 'wrangler's bunch in the
lead We're skinned and limping. But
| the cowboys, their clothing in rags
from the thorny midnight ride, merely
! joked on their mutual appearance and
| solaced their WEAKNESS with tobacco
and with endless song. AS a rule, the
cowboy in an American. In the plat
eau region he may either hail from
California or from Texas. But they
all fraternize, making issue only over
the liking of the Californian for
saddle with 'single-barreled rig
which is q saddle with single girth.
The Texan despises anything but a
double-cinched saddle though usually
he does not tighten the second girth.
1.-THE sheep herder has distinctly
lower social place. AS Il rule, he is
foreigner, the few Americans employed
being in positions of unusual tIust.
Most of the herders appear to be MeXi-
cans of Frenchmen. 1t is said that
Basques are the best and most careful
shepherds. They come from Northern
Spain, many of them especially for
this employment. Their wages are not
bad, being usually even higher than
the pay of cowboys or farmhands, but
the nervous American cannot stand
the life. The everlasting 'baa' drives
him mad. He cannot endure the mon.
otony and the necessary separation
from humanity, with only n dog for
company for months at stretch. And
the diet, mainly tea and mutton, Is
too simple for his luxurious palate. 1t
is fact that sheep herding furnishes
q greater number of inmates for west
0
ern insane asylums than does any other
occupation. The shepherd, like tho
cowboy, is gradually assimilated to
hrs surroundings and naturally ac-
quires much of the nature of his charg-
es To his credit it must be said that
he is rarely unfaithful to the interests
of his flock and its owner. There Is
nothing poetical about him, but he will
risk his life for the safety of lamb,
and will doggedly search all night if
there be stray. He Is a much quieter
fellow than the cowboy, even in his
cups, when the wool has been clipped
and the hands are in town for little
fling. He has no wild yeqrnqg for
idly shooting holes in the firmdment.
He is happlest on a sunny hillside, ly-
ing at ease where he may overlook his
flock and hear the ceaseless yoicing of
it's lamentation.''