Cochise review., 1900-11-06
HARD ON HERDERS.
Persecution ot Some Sheepmen on
 tho Western Ranges.
Even the GOverpwrrf Takes Hand In the OppresSiou--Partic O. of the Business of Rais-
 ing sheep.

anu tG e sESS DrDSN' The eastern l.nNs. believe. sheep rearing Vi, even ,ual,E be giveA 5vn- to the iarmers, lr,v,Er the e tt!e to roam the unIocat, gu0.ic domain. 1hc i3e4 Gee, TO. pr.ya!. .. he p,aieaa regions ot lhe west, writes Capt. James 4. GicCBn, ck. in Aims lees. Where there are sheep the cat t. nr:: t:part. Sheep nay exiss in propi; lu..y with cattle. bu: the Ts- y.Ist Js LCt possible. AS before ro4t {, cat..e a's s:zlicnary. while :1sCp a@e rsc::al!.y nomadic When tes6 is shc,; ;he shsepman moves lis flock 70 g.asg, r.: cattle owner with his wilc and altered property, may not to this | ?ncaEyes CT he gees broke n single ,- ea!ity The cattleman is hand capped aI every point Of tbe struggle. His crop natures more slow ly. Io sscure the best results hg must wait r1ree'or four years til his prcruc. is ripenec by age. In not oy.r one year cut of four will eartle accumulate any les yectable amount of fat or the west ern ranges, The price of the pzCCuct cepsnGs much on the condition of the corn market. fer range besi rarely If ever goes to the block direct A ST gle 0:y ss2s0n means also Q no far or growth for catils, aud means also no II ere se for t@s. succeeding year, The Ja.ss of cate barons anc of epormpus profits in the cattle bus.Less belong. to the early days when the plains were GOV. cred with knee-oaEp grass with water in every gully, Al present there is more money in the fattening of steers than there is in the rearing of them on the range. Cn6er favorable coEGi- tions there Is money in the cattle business, but favorable conditions axe rarely present. The plateau region is now in it's fourth successive year of drought. Thus it comes that the eat tleman is no. longer so determined to defend the heath he very reasonably holds his, own. ...... ...
 The sheep owner, to begin with: is at considerable expense, for he has 70 mainrsin a man with every 2,t1o L cad of his woolliss, But he shears once or twice a year, and ct the present pr.ces for wool an average half-brec merino will bring him annually from that source tal one S1.2N The increase of his hocks;is fully 40 per cent. per annum. He need not wait several years, like his enemy, the cattleman, for entrance to market. Y His wethers at the pres ent rates bring hiIn B. 3.50alean, and five dollars when in good condition, but spring lambs four months old, are rated in the eastern markets at even 8 greater price per head than :s paid for mature6 mutrons. It is,a business of quick returns and ample Irohts. To be sure, a, change in tariff wou,6 mark edly influence the wool quotations out were. the value Of the VOC. a most to be- destroyesg the shsepmen would still be on an equality with the cattle baron. The tendency is enphatieal!y toward the rearing of cattle in com pounds, such ax are found on the great Maxwell grant of northern New Mex ico, while thssouthwest ranges'are be- ing given orSr to the sheep. A few thousanG head are annually fattensd for exceptionaliy choice mutton on the alfalfa pastures of Arizona and south central California, but the owners pre- fer the lush spring ssasssSa of the plains ThesF sFssulti iS thssAms and th, sOsT h far lssEqt s:f s~.-.
 1t sAsnot hs denied that the life o1 che lsASypE owner it far from unhappy one! HGSs damned and persecutee or every sid ., and even tbetUnired States government 1akesIa hand in the perse cution. Tho main trouble is with th: forestry dfvision of the interior depart ment Tt is generally coAce6led that sheep have Nn;injurious effect on the western watsa .supply. Of course rain falls upon, the sheep as upon the just and uHjust--but- shs forestry expert generally. insiatA ,(al That sheep eat out all underbruTh yand. even young trees, destroying the natural cheeks to toosrapiG evaporation. the consery ators of the snowfall, and even threat ening. sthe4f future of the forests, de priyed of thsiE-y young growth; CD that sheep pack the soil sndsolear away the grassesr thereby creating B.. conditions that deprive the soil, of porosity anG render the runGoff too rapid fer ths public veal (c) that sheep herders with their camPfres, are a perpetua nnenacs to the foresrs and, are a pro life cause of destructive fires Sheer owners deny thsGs allegations specii cally and entirely, yet the ideas are ad
 hetee lto, by che men who lead scient ific though. in this direction Even now { commission of; eminent scientific ex perts is, poking around il, the noun tains of Colorado, New Mexico anc Arizona, attempting to get at the truth oSthe matter. The sheepmen's as secia tions are eIwelconing them with eff fusion, and have contributed liberalll toward 2 theiH proper sntsrtsinmsn'