The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-07-23
TRAILING SHEEP"

The boy of tender care
Perchance he's trailing band of sheep,
On the prairie dry and bare.
The cold, hard earth is his resting place,
The blue sky DER him spread;
For pillow, a coat, or his Bonded arm
A blanket his only bed.
For water he digs in an alkali hole;
With dust he seasons his "chuck;"
And when he gets two square" meals
He considers himself in luck.
His days and nights are full OF care,
He has little cause for JOY;
SO breathe for each one simple prayer
When you think of your wandering boy.
If one desires to enjoy few weeks of
camp life, with it's attendant discom-
forts and exposures called by some
sport, they should join an outfit trail
ing sheep" For isolation, vexations and
queer happenings, it has ''sheep herd
ing" beaten mile. A sheep trailing
outfit is similar to that of herders,
with the addition of the "chuck
wagon. Usually there two men who
accompany band of sheep when on
the trail; also couple of dogs, which
are of vital Importance. One man herds
the sheep while the other cooks the
"chuck." hunts the trail, pitches and
breaks camp, etc. He outlines the days
route to the herder, and driving ahead
with the wagon selects a camping
groiind, erects the tent, gets supper tor
himself anC herder, cares for his team,
etc. When the herder arrives with the
band he camps them, eats his 'chuck
and seeks his bed. No, that is a mis-
statement. for mother earth and a
blanket never yet made a bed. L am
fond of this old world OF ouls. and have
enioved great many pleasures there
on, but | cannot be made to believe in
its adaptability as mattress.
II might be of interest to read OF
some of our night experiences n camp.
We will suppose that the night is TAR
and warm. The sheep having settled
down upon the ed-ground, lay quiet
" chewing their cuds. 1t is warm III
thp+ent and the herder takes his blanket
and pillow coat, and craWls under the
chuck" wagon. Rolling his blanket
around him. he occupies few minutes
trviu2 to Gnd a place on the ground
where there are hollow places Iii which
10 lift some of the most prominent OF
his bores. After arranging himself as
comfortably as is possible under the
circumstances. lie desires to rearrange
his coat pillow, and thoughtlessiy raises
himself on his elbow Thuck' His head
comes in contact with one of the axle
bolts He rubs his head. mutters a few
russ words, and again straightens him.
self ont for the night. Gradually dark
ness falls and the silence is broken only
by tile occasional bleat of sheep or
the voice Of an owl perched upon a
neighboring tree top, calling, calling,
while the early deWs are falling. Inc
darkness grows denser, the silence deep
er. suddenly cottontail hops into the
midst Of the resting sheep, and lmme-
iiately there is a rush, as couple hun
bred OF the frightened animals seek to
ESCAPE, The man under the wagon, be-
ing halt asleep, hearing the noise, and
thinking Only of the safety OF his charge,
springs up. only to be knocked fiat by
his head colliding violently with the
axle. He laws and blinks a moment,
then consgning sheep, wagon, and the
whole outfit, including himself, to a
place which seems to have a peculiar
attraction as consigning depot in mo
ments of this sort, he pulls the blanket
up around his ears, and nothing short
of an earthquake, or the wagon burn
ing over linn, will move him again that
night
Rainy nights are different Then the
tent is occupied Coming in tired and
wet the herder bolts the food prepared
for him. unrolls his blanket and pre-
pares for sleep. Divesting himself Of
his outer garments and shoes he hangs
them Oh the usual hook used in camp
life the ground), and turns in. But he
does not sleep, for Willie his breathing
and appearance may indicate slumber
mis- senses are alert and his ear strained
to catch any sound which may denote
trouble among the sheep; for he we'll
knows that it is on such nights as these
that the wolves and cayotes prowl,
and only few minutes would suffice
for one to enter the band and cause a
loss Of hundreds of dollars. Outside
the wind bowls through the tree tops,
and the rain beats monotonousiy upon
the roof of the tent. Turning to obtain
more comfortable position he notices
something soft and moist under him,
and it only requires moment to con-
vince him of the fact that little streams
of water are running down through the
tent. There is DO remedy, however, so
he closes his eyes and tries to sleep.
Suddenly there is stampede of the
sheep outside, and he is awake and erect
in an instant. The rush is repeated and
he hurriedly dons his garments such as
he can tind) and stumbles forth into the
darkness and storm. Making circle
of the camp, running his face on to
projecting limbs, humping his head