The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-12-27
THE ISLAND SHEEP MATTER

tween the M. S. S. P. A. and some of tho
farmers of the eastern counties AS we
have been engaged in the work of irving to
prevent neglect and cruelty in the keeping
of sheep on the Maine coast islands for
some years, we took it for granted that orr
purposes and methods were pretty well
known among the sheep owners, and that
no one would doubt that we were entirely
| friendly to the industry when conducted
with reasonable humanity, as it would be
done by all intelligent and right-minded
farmers. l enclose communication which
L lately made on the subject to the ssTurf.
Farm and HOme,' and would be much
obliged if you would print it, or so much
of it as you may be able. 1 think it would
be interesting matter to your readers. We
deserve the sympathy and support of your
| self and all other good citizens, and are
confident that farmers who care properly
| for their island sheep would be very ready
to separate themselves from the careless
and cruel who seek to cloak their i'll deeds
under the general good conduct of the ma
! jority
! Portland, Me-, Dec. IA, 1900
PORTLAND, Dec. s, 1900. l find in YOUR
issue of November % communication
p, signed &. NJ. Gowell, on the subject of sheep
kept on the islands Off the Maine coast. 1t
/ seems to call for some reply from the NJ. S.
S. T. A., which is concerned in looking after
+; that matter The article of Professor Cow
ell is written in such d good spirit and evil
dent sincerity that can have no controversy
with him; in fact | concur almost entirely
i'll his observations, as they agree with our
, own which have been repeatedly set forth
in our publications. His description of the
1 curious spruce shelters which exist on some
of the islands is very clear and spirited,
. and he has not said d word too much in
their favor as protection for sheep. The
only difficulty with his article is that it does
not go quite far enough The society is not
making war on such places as he describes,
but on very different class of islands. In
fact, there is every degree in the treatment
/ of sheep on the Maine ISLANDS, from excel
lent care to most deplorable cruelty and
neglect.
Our Society began its work as d State
organization in 1891. and almost immedi-
ately complaints began to come to us re-
specting the conditions of sheep on the is
were from humane persons residing in the
nelghborhood OF the islands, and many from
travellers by boat or summer visitors. We
looked after the reported cases as well as
We could in the places designated. and We're
able to afford alienation in many instances
We have usually found, where attention
was called to particularly outrageous eases,
that the owners responded to our request
and either removed the animals or provided
suitable food and shelter. In one instance,
that of Monhegan island, we found it neceS-
Sary to appeal to the courts, and all the
owners of sheep on the island were indicted
by the Grand jury, sitting atty iscasset,J Judge
Peters presiding; and they were Severally
fined 800 and costs, the fines being REMIT
ed on condition that all the sheep should
be removed from the island before the sue
ceedlng winter; and they were accordingly
all removed. We soon found that the task
of looking after these matters was too great
to be conducted in the deSultOry way in
which we started and we began a Syste-
matte examination OF the islands along the
whole coast, beginning at the western eX
tremity and proceeding eastward. We were
glad to find that the larger part of the is
lands were free from reprOach, and in the
cases where abuses existed, the perpetra-
tors yielded to our representations and
either removed the sheep or provided ade-
quate shelter and food. In this way we
have proceeded, year by year, as fast as our
means would permit; and this year have
entered upon the examination of the islands
lying to the eastward OF Penobscot Bay.
Here, for the first time since the Monhegan
case, we find ourselves confronted with
serious opposition. ] think this is largely
due to misunderstanding of our purpose.
We do not object to the whole system of
| keeping sheep on the islands. but only to
the cases where there is manifest hardship.
1t is very. natural that offenders should
wish to represent us as making a general
attack on Sheep-oWners. and to class them
selves with humane owners whose sheep
are properly cared for.
| wish to state most distinctly that We
discriminate carefully in our objections,
and no owner whose sheep are even de-
Gently cared for need fear any attack from
the society We have made careful per-
sonal examination of all suspicious islands
as far as we have gone, and think that
our errors in selection will be few, as the
agents sent for this purpose are men of
character, experience and good Judgment.
There is wide range of difference be-
tween the life of such sheep as described
by professor Gowell and by writer's in the
interest of the organized sheep-owners,
and the life of sheep put on small islands
little better than barren rocks, with abso-
lutely no growth to afford shelter and very
little for food, and left to exc out miser-
able existence by what the sea throws up,
mainly kelp and sea-weed. And yet some
men are willing to continue such treatment
of their sheep if they think they find any
cyncally to one of our agents this autumn
that if they did not lose over ten per cent.
of their sheep by drowning, freezing or
starving in each winter, they found the
business profitable.
STANLEY I. PULLEN,