Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-04-09
A GREAT SHEEP RANCH
Modern Methods In the Woo|
Raising Industry.

Modern Methods In the Wool
Raising Industry.
DETAILS OF THE BUSINESS.
The Summer and 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 a great deal
of detail unknown to most people. AS
I spent some time on a big sheep ranch
in Idaho a 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 yea1
around. The country is divided into
several sections, a winter and summer
range. The latter lis generally in the
hills, mountains and in parts Of the
forest reserves, permits for which have
to be had from Washington. Only sc
many sheep are allowed in it, and the
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 lis perhaps the
lambing period, which m in Idaho
| during May. A band Of 1900 to 2,50C
| ewes is taken out under a lambine
| boss, who has with him two or three
| herders, 81 night herder, a night shoot
er and cook. AS soon as any Of
the lambs are born they are gathered
together in a small band and Jagged
that is. a pole with a red flag is placed
near, so they a be easily banded to.
gether and that the mothers will suckle
their young. When 500 or GOO ewes
have LANDED they are all driven to-
gether in a band and taken on to a
new section 8 mile OF SO away, where
| they remain until all the band has
LANDED. Then they are divided again
into two bands. under a herder and
helper, and wait until docking and
! shearing begin before they go to the
| summer range. The ewes are herded
! each night by a herder, whose duty it
is to keep them on their bed grounds,
while the night shooter, either afoot o.
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 a 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 1t, 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 and 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 foul bands
are treated that way in a 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 4
day when they are very near together.
This goes or for ten days or two
weeks until all the sheep under whose
foreman they are have been treated.
About May % or June i 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 a gaso-
line engine. Blades have been given
up mostly now, and nearly all modern
outfits use the clippers. The shearers
are paid by the sheep, 16 cents for
rams and 8 cents for all other sheep
and a dollar per day board. A high
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 it
is remarkable how thousands Of sheep
can be handled and timed so that
nom 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 a chute into an alleyway and
five OF eight put in each shearer's pen.
AS each pen is reflled and the shorn
sheep put out the alley man and shear
er 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