Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-01-24
A GREAT SHEEP RANCH

A GREAl SHELF RANCH
!. Madam Mn4hnde la-4L- Ah-A1r
DETAILS OF THE BUSINESS.
The Summer anil Winter Ranges, the
Landing Period and the Work of the
Docking crews-How the Fleece Is
Shorn, Graded and Packed.
A modern sheep ranch today Is most
interesting and involves great deal
Of detail unknown to most people. AS
I spent some time on big sheep ranch
in Idaho year ago, some account of
my observations may be of interest.
Unlike cattle, which can, except In
certain seasons, be left to themselves.
sheep have to be herded the year
around. The country is divided into
several sections, winter and summer
range. The latter is generally in the
hills, mountains and in parts of the
forest reserves, permits for which have
to be had from Washington. Only so
many sheep are allowed in it, and the
government charges about 8 cents a
head for the summer season, which
opens In Idaho about June Is. The
winter range is in the valleys and
plains or near the ranches, where hay
can be had when the snow becomes
too deep.
The hardest season is perhaps the
lambing period, which comes in Idaho
during Msy. A band Of 1900 to $500
ewes is taken out under lambing
boss. who has with him two or three
herders, night herder, night shoot
er and one cook. As soon as any of
the lambs are born they are gathered
together in small band and Jagged
that is. pole with red flag is placed
near, so they can be easily banded to-
gether and that the mothers will suckle
their young. When 500 or 600 ewes
have LANDED they are all driven to-
gether in band and taken on to
new section mile or SO away, where
they remain until all the band has
LANDED. Then they are divided again
into two bands, under herder and
helper, and wait until docking and
shearing begin before they 60 to the
summer range. The ewes are herded
each night by herder, whose duty it
Is to keep them on their bed grounds,
while the night shooter, either afoot or
horseback, rides around, shooting
blank cartridges every little while to
scare away coyotes or other animals.
He generally places two or three red
lanterns on prominent places as guides
for his nights work.
About the middle Of May the dock
ing crew Is made up, which generally
consists Of boss, cook and five or sew
en- men. Starting at some convenient
point they put out with two wagons,
one containing the tents, provisions
and beds, while the other holds the
corral. The corral Is made Of laths
and wire and can be put up in thirty
minutes. The ewes and lambs are
driven into it, the lambs cut out and
put into the triangle shaped fence,
where two or three men hold them by
all four feet, while another cuts off
their tails aud slices the ears of the
eve lambs. They are branded with
the outfit and flock brands, while ewes
are also marked and counted. In this
way the percentage of the lambs is
taken. Sometimes three or four bands
are treated that way in day, the cor
raj being taken up and put down wher-
ever the next band is, but two bands
are all that most crews can do in q
day when they are very near together
This goes on for ten days or two
weeks until all the sheep under whose
foreman they are have been treated.
About May 25 or June / shearing
begins. A large outfit will have per-
haps two or three shearing plants stu
ated conveniently in different parts of
the country. A large plant will have
thirty or forty shearing machines with
steam for power, while a smaller one
Of sixteen machines will have gaso-
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up mostly now, and nearly all modern
outfits use the clippers. The shearers
are paid by the sheep, Is cents for
rams and 8 cents for all other sheep
and dollar per day board. A thigh
roller will shear 200 sheep in ten
hours, but these men are far and few.
The average is a little below a hun
dred sheep per day. Each foreman
knows beforehand just about what
time to have his sheep on hand, and 1t
Is remarkable how thousands Of sheep
can be handled and timed so that
none will mix up. A band Of ewes
and lambs will come in by sunset and
. are corralled and the lambs cut out
and counted, while the ewes are put
through chute into an alleyway and
{ five or eight put in each shearer's pen.
As each pen is refilled and the shorn
sheep put out the alley man and shear.
Ter toll up their account. The shorn
sheep are put down another alley and
: branded with the outfit brand and flock
! brand
After the shearer has shorn his sheep
he lets it go back into the Den and