Graham guardian., 1900-11-09
CATTLE VS.. SHEEP.
Cause of a Bitter Feud in the West
ern Country.
Natural differences between the
Handlers of Two Kinds =: Live
stock--DevAstattnE Eject
of sheep.

The perennial fight between western
eattlemen and sheepmen is study for
both the Psychologist and the econo-
mist. AT first g,ance the interests OF
thc1, great divisions of the live stock
industry would appear TO he in com
mon. Hut, in truth, this eau never be,
Cattle aEd sheep can no mere occupy
a range in common than oil and wa
ter cau iloat coherently. The COW.
puncb>r hascs the shepherd with q
ha'ryt Ia, IS deep arn .,;wcs pic
turc,se a ihe lerdcr / Tits him
srif " artillery and suite, y stands
on Il, ,ye, writes apt. James
~. 81, X, in Ainsltt's.
The raube between the cattle and
sheep ~ u' ;cs mainly ro> gls from
the uaj1,a, differences b,:"etn the
two cs,,,. Of live stocE. Cattle are
homo.E NJ in their huh =. They
are as ,"' to lose as hUuSs cat,
unless, Nrir' arce, the clt' "a and
reckless ,psiler harpcrs g.,;g A
rang cN naturally viii make her
"run ,ry she was born. iier own
er ap, +, cowboys expect to find her
WI = r4s.!y defined limits, usually
alun- ,.n'o certain cattle trail that
sis,. watering place and leads
bg. ar ground. In ordinary
wca water be easy of access,
ab,a cattle will be found some
time ftv' he duy along the creeks,
bAol, 5aan
in the mu,. The night is spent back
on the feeding ground. Drive the COW
away. eygn 100 miles, and back she
will drift, though her return be TO n
feeding ground by far the worse. Back
home she win come, though it be to
starve and die.
Sheep, on the contrary. are necessa-
rily nomadic. They are gregarious,
punching" by instinct. One man with
his dog can care for even 1000, though
only half that number is usually al
lotted. A hoek OF sheep is about az
il has passed the grass is gone, even
to the roots the sage brush is defo-
liageo and the track so reeks with the
Sleeps peculiar cGor that cattle and
horses avoid the ground for weeks
afteTward, And he herds in their
ceaseless iourneyirg never follow one
another. To use pat military en-
preston, they come zen echelon," in
path parallel TO and abutting ons
edge Of the strip devastated by the
preceding woolly army. Thus. If one
flock eat out q half-mile strip. ten
focks will leave a harrcr a;oa five
miles wide. The better ;I,e fcCd the
slower the rate OF travel. ihr tiock
moves on when the grass i coH>umed.
No diagram is needed to show the eff
feet OF such raid on IA ratt!e range.
The rage OF the cattlcmen is not hard
TO imagine,
A quarter OF a century ago. when the
wild west was virgin land and pasture,
there was plenty Of room for both
cattle and sheep But as the country
has filled mp and as the area nj unten-
anted or unclaimed land has Shrunk,
the two branches OF live siack have
been driven in upon each 0jhcr more
and more. Gntil they are rGW in conten-
tirn fer possession of the same field
Li't,s by little the herders and punch
trS have been forced from the plains
up into the mountains. Western Kan
saS. Nebraska and the n&hG:as. the
western portion of Oregon and Wash |
iug,on. and all of Californ n. which (
We're once free ranges, have become less
and less available. Even Colorado and /
Utah and portion of Wyoming, be- |
cause OF the advance of fnrrters and (
miner" afford a constantly shrinking |
pas urags. Both sheepmen and cattle
mtg have been obliged to seek the
high and untenable lands in he noun
tainS. where the forests and the water
sheds are the only sections that az
ford sufficient feed.
The struggle between them, there
fore. Is waRed chiefly in wha; Is known
IS the plateau region OF the continent.
From .owcs New Mexico ard Arizona,
and wrysia Texas northwart, to the
tn @iraH boundary. and frrI3' he rrst-
'rN Mau.aaa line westwarG ia Ec sum
nj; Of the Cascade mouu;a;p, the
hycpmer and the catilcm,n ar. tight
n" FOR Inc control uf the rtGGiEiug
'augcs. The sheep go into the ycr-
lant meadows OF the forests, and the
seek to eNpe! them. The
attlemen occupy some section where
hcgrasses are succulcnt and the water
'lentiful, only TO find the sheep work
ng into the same district, cropping
he grass to its roots, and tainting the
ir with the smell which the cattle
annot endure. The closer settlement
rowds in upon the formerly unset
led lands the more bitter becomes the
ntagonism, Frequently it breaks out
n brief shooting matches, in which the
attlemen generally prove themselves
he more expert. More often it cul-
inmates in strained sentiments and
ress reports of trouble threatened
'etween cowboys and sheep herders."
gain it breeds feu6s which are fully
$ swift and decisive as those of Ken
ucky.
Chinese Commercial Wealth.
A. n