The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-02-10

Us fellows the coyote. easily turns it
towards the prairie and kills 1t as lei-
sure. In ordcr TO guard against these
menaces Of the focli the herder must
keep constantly on the move. He de-
pends a great deal on his dog, of
course, the intelligence OF these ami
mails being little short of remarkable.
There is comTadeship between the
herder and his dog which is broken
only by death. Some of the herders
spend all their spare time teaching the
dogs tricks, and the lover of intelligent
CANNES can find many wonderful and
well-traincd animals In western sheen
camps.
A Bold Hold-Up.
Recently some sheep herders in the
Upper Wind river country found a
new foe in the shape of the red man.
Several Arnpahoc bucks found band
of several hundred sheep which had
strayed away from their herdors and
drove them to a spot where they could
be corralled. They then sent word TO
the herders that the sheep would be
returned when the owner had paid a
certain ransom. The feed in the
country where the sheep were cor
rallied was very poor and the owner
took immediate steps to get back his
flock before their condition had been
DANCED. After some argument, the
owner managed to get the price down
to $50, which ransom was paid and
the sheep released This was one Of
the boldest hold-up cases In the history
of Wyoming, yet nothing was done to
the Indians.
In the spring, at lambing time. the
sheepman's life is about as hard and
disagreeable as can be imagined The
lambs, which come In the cold months
Of early spring, have to be gathered
up In the arms and carried OF with tho
mothers and placed in small pen,
In order that mother and offspring
may come to know each other When
a band of 5000 ewes is dropping lambs
in cold and stormy weather, the
sheepman's life is anything but pleas
ant one Lambing crews are hard to
get, although as high as $50 n month
and board are paid for men that do
such work
All for $40 Per Month.
Notwithstanding the dangers and
discomforts which the sheepherder Is
| constantly facing from one years end
| to the other, and in spite of the fact
that he may at any time be called upon
| to lay down his life, either in combat
| with the elements, of with the cattle
| men. he receives small pay. Forty dol
lars a month Is the standard pay for
sheepherders in western states. OF
course, the owner provides food and
shelter in addition to this pay. but the
| food is generally not of the best and
the shelter Of a tent or sheep wagon
In the rough weather is not much to
boast of.
Despite the drawbacks of the life,
however, there seems to be no lack
OF sheepherders. Many OF the men are
intelligent, we'll read fellows who have
taken up such a life in order to regain
health. or perhaps to take themselves
"far from the madding crowd" The
loneliness of the life is liable to mako
man morose, and there is no exag-
geration in the many stories of sheep
herders who go insane. There are few
pleasant features to compensate for the
many disadvantages and dangers OF the
sheepherdor's existence. and it is hard
to understand how such a life appeals
to anyone. The sheepmen are constant
ly gaining in their fight for the range.
however, and as long as they do so
the number of herdcrs is bound to in
| crease, while their more picturesque
rivals. the cowboys, will suffer cor
responding decrease.