The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1904-02-18
SHEEPHERDERS IN WEST
LONELINESS or THE LIFE MAKES
A MAN MOROSE.

In Caring for His FIocks He Must
Endure Privstions and Face Deadly
Enemies, Including cattlemen-
The Pay Is $40 a Month.
Sheepherders in the far west are
/ having a strenuous time owing to IN
termittent renewals of the war with
their ancient enemies, the cattlemen.
In Big Horn county, Wyoming, few
weeks ago, a party of masked and
heavily armed cattlemen made a raid
on the sheep camps of Patrick Dunn,
on Broken Neck creek, killing over 300
| head of sheep destroying three sheep
wagons and their contents and driving
the sheepherders out of the country.
This is only one instance out of
| hundreds, showing the constant danger
run by sheepherders. Cattlemen from
| Montana to Arizona are fighting for the
preservation of their range, and many
sheepherder, in the past few months
| has been compelled to see his employ
ers property destroyed, knowing that
the first sign of protest will be the sig
nal for a shower of bullets in his own
! direction. Yet the menace of the cattle
interests is only small portion of the
| sheepherder's troubles. In reality, his
| job is one of the most strenuous of all
employments, and yet the majority of
! people think that the sheepherder has
sinecure, with nothing to do but walk
/ about in the sunshine and fresh air,
and let his faithful shepherd dog do all
the work of herding. A few days spent
in any sheep camp in Montana, Wyo-
ming, Colorado or any other great wool
state, will convince the skeptic that the
| sheepherder's life is anything but a
| life of ease, and that the cowboy, the
soldier, the miner, or almost any 9TH
er man whose position is supposed to
| entail great danger, does not take half
! the chances of the solitary man whose
lot is cast on the sheep ranch. Not
only is there a great deal of hard work
connected with the sheep business, but
there is larger loss of life among
those who actively engage in it than in
any other branch of the stock industry.
| In Constant Danger.
| In the summer time, when the sheep
i herder starts out with his band of
sheep and proceeds to find feed for his
| charges, he is in constant danger from
lightning. Many sheepherders are kill
ed every year by lighting, their bodies
| being found weeks afterward. Little
notice is taken Of these tragedies-two
or three lines in country newspaper
usually form the sheepherder's obitu-
| ary. The herder, who usually stands
on an eminence in order to watch his
flock the better, seems to offer a shin
ing mark for lightning. Two years ago
three herders in Chouteau county, Mon
| tana, were struck and killed, all inside
| traction about band of sheep that
draws the lightning that
scientists have not ye; explained. In the
| late autumn these electric storms are
the most violent and sheep herders
naturally regard them with sort of
| superstitious terror.
The death of herder near Greeley,
| Colorado, may be cited as an instance
Of the constant danger from lightning.
The body OF Adolph Scrubli, a sheep
| herder, was found on the prairie last
| July, evidently having been struck by
| lightning. Two of Scrubli's sheep dogs
| stood guard over his remains, but in
spite Of their efforts, part of the body
had been devoured by coyotes. Some
silver coin in the herder's pocketbook
was melted, showing conclusively by
what agency the man had come to his
| death
In the winter of course, the sheep
herder has an even more strenuous
| time. There is constant danger from
billiards., and there Is no means OF
gathering statistics regarding the num-
ber of men who annually sacrifice their
lives in trying to save their fiocks from
the cold and snow. One severe storm in
Montana or Wyoming usually causes
| the death of at least half a dozen her
| ders, but the ranks are always filled
with recruits, and the patient, courag-
eous men go right on facing death in
the performance of their duty.
A Pathetic Case.
One of the most pathetic cases OF
this nature occurred last winter in the
Red desert, sixty miles west of Raw
Inns, Wyoming. William Moody, a
sheepherder, and his dogs were caught
in a terrible blizzard. The sheep per-
ished by scores, but Moody did not
abandon the attempt to save his flock.
At last he fell in the snow and froze
to death. His dogs for two weeks
stayed upon that spot guarding the
body of their dead master. The animals
kept themselves alive by eating the
carcasses of the frozen sheep. They
| fought Off coyotes and when the her
, der's body was finally discovered it was
with difficulty that it could be taken
from the watchful care OF these two
animals.
The danger from wild animals in
the west is small in comparison with
other dangers faced by the shepherd
er, but it is to be considered, neverthe-
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